Just to Satisfy
by The Dragon Lover
Summary: Gengar had been acting very strange since the incident by Whiscash's pond; he was constantly spouting flirtatious dialogue, sporting that insanely smug grin on his face as she tried to ignore him. It was starting to unnerve her. 100prompts.
1. Evolution

_I'm so sorry, LMers, that it's taken me the entire summer to start uploading this. Really, it was as annoying for me as it was for you, because I've been sitting on this material with no one to talk to about it, and I've been going crazy trying to reach the 50 prompt point. I still haven't gotten there, to be honest, but I've decided that, with school underway here, enough's enough: I'm posting this damn thing. (Let that be a warning that the characters in this might have a sort of potty-mouth - or at least the Hero.)_

_I hope that I won't let any of you down, or anyone else who decides to read this, while I post the first five chapters of this story. I won't spoil anything, so dive right in! Expect hilarity, awkwardness, and hilariously awkward hilarity.  
_

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

Hero: Kitsune or "Kitty," female eevee

Partner: Sakura, female bulbasaur

Absol: Blade, male

* * *

It was a week after she had defeated Rayquaza, left and returned, and they were _still_ talking about it in town; the eevee couldn't walk into the square without hearing someone recounting the tale to a pokemon who hadn't been present for the event. Even her friend, Sakura, was getting praised for her strength and courage, and the bulbasaur was starting to chafe under all of the attention. They even began to sneak around town in hopes of avoiding another group of fans, but it was all in vain–they'd go around the corner only to run into a giddy mob that was all too glad to trap them and ask millions of questions at once. Kitty was starting to wish someone else had gone to Sky Tower in her place. _I've had _enough_ of screaming and hugging and handshakes and everything._ Strangely enough, no one went to bother Blade about his part in fighting Rayquaza; he had gone into hiding as soon as he could, though, so he might have anticipated the oncoming storm of fans and ran for the hills. _Smart move._

In between the periods of claustrophobia-inducing sessions with fans, the team still went out on missions; it seemed even after the comet's destruction, there was still a lot of trouble in the world, but they were ready to help those in need. "A rescuer's work is never done," Shiftry had grumbled while glancing at the messy billboard outside of the post office, but he admitted that while troublesome, it kept rescue teams in business. "And that means money in our pockets, haha!"

The eighth day after the world was saved, Kitty found a special ribbon while searching for a mirage pokemon and brought it home to question Alakazam about it. She learned it was an item she could use to evolve, and she contemplated on using it in the cave Snubbull–now Granbull–had discovered. _Do I want to evolve? It would make me stronger. Eevee isn't exactly the strongest of pokemon in the world._ It took a lot of consideration and even a talk with Sakura, but she eventually decided, like her partner, that it was time. Gripping the sparkling ribbon in her teeth, the bulbasaur watched her enter the cave as an eevee–and exit the cave as an umbreon.

". . . Wow!" The grass-type ran up to her friend in awe, using a vine to smooth down the new black fur. "You look so different! Amazing!"

"I know . . ." Kitty looked down at herself quietly, thinking over the changes and remembering all of the obstacles she had encountered as an eevee. Would things be easier or harder now? It wasn't like she could go back, in either case. Nodding to herself, she looked back up with a smile and nudged her partner. "Go on. I'll wait out here."

"O-okay." Taking a deep breath, Sakura entered the cave, and minutes passed while her friend waited outside. The newly evolved umbreon started to get anxious, tail twitching every so often as she worried her lip, but then a much larger grass-type came out of the cave with a hesitant expression. Walking up to Kitty, the venusaur waved two vines in display and asked, "Well? What do you think?"

"Wow, you're so _tall!_" Unable to contain her enthusiasm, Kitty leapt onto her friend's back and admired the flower growing there, shouting, "Hey, that bulb thing on your back finally bloomed! Ooh, it smells _nice._"

"Glad _you_ can see it," she mumbled, shaking her back and grinning when the umbreon nearly fell over. "Now get down here so I can make sure you're not putting a "kick me" note on my back!"

Kitty rolled her eyes and obeyed the command, although she protested, "Oh, come on. That sounds like something that Team _Meanies_ would do."

"Kekeh, you rang?" Both stiffened in shock before turning to face the smirking pokemon behind them; a coiled rattlesnake, a pale-skinned warrior and a purple ghost looked on with satisfaction at their reactions before the leader stepped forward and cackled. "Nice to see you, too!"

". . . oh. It's _you_ guys." Kitty rolled her eyes and turned to her partner, "mumbling" rather loudly, "And here I was thinking it was someone _important_ or something. Psh." Smiling when the venusaur giggled, she glanced at Gengar and was content with the sour frown on his face. _Ha, take _that._ You don't intimidate me anymore–I've fought against pokemon twenty times your size._ She loved the new confidence she had acquired as a result of her perilous adventures.

He picked his smirk back up in a flash, however, and he was back to snickering and plotting. "Oh, don't be like that, kekeh!"

"We were only coming to give our _congratulations,_" Ekans added with a lopsided grin, enjoying the scowls he received as a result. "After all, you both _did_ save the world."

"Thanks, but no thanks. Come on, Sakura," Kitty muttered as she nudged her friend, "let's just get on with our missions. Don't need to waste our time with _them._" She decided to be the better pokemon and not rise to their bait, no matter how much she wanted to; she definitely wasn't curious enough to stick around and see what they were planning. Before they could start moving, however, Gengar stepped in front of them with his trademark mischievous smirk, deliberately blocking their way. "What _now?_"

He offered a claw in what seemed to be a handshake, telling her, "Don't be so cruel, Kitty! I just want to thank you for what you've done, kekeh!" When she looked at his claw with disdain, he wiggled his fingers tauntingly as his grin grew even wider. "What, afraid?"

She scoffed and lifted her paw in response, grumbling as she warily accepted his handshake, "As if I'd be afraid of you!" _I'm just expecting you to hypnotize me or something, that's all. At least I have Sakura here to help me if he does–_ She promptly lost her train of thought when, quite out of the blue, Gengar raised her paw to his face and gave it a quick kiss, and she yanked it back and spluttered in alarm, "W-what the hell was _that?_"

If his smirk grew any wider, it would engulf his entire face. "Kekeh. My thanks!" He stepped to the side and bowed, letting the two stunned girls walk quickly past him as he continued to grin. He waved in farewell and shouted after her, "Have a nice day, Kitty!"

* * *

**Theme**: Introduction

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	2. Clue

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Walking side-by-side down the road towards the base, the umbreon asked the question both of them were thinking: "What in the world do you think _that_ was about?"

"You honestly think I have a clue?" Sakura rolled her eyes, pointing out, "It's not like I'm part psychic and can read his mind or something. I can't imagine why he'd do something like _that_."

Kitty growled and kicked a pebble, watching it skip across the dirt until it spun into the grass and out of side. "That–that _jerk._ He's always got to make things weird and complicated for me, huh?"

"I think he can't get enough of getting you flustered." As they both contemplated the idea, the venusaur snorted, suggesting, "He's got an addiction!"

"Pff. He'd better see a doctor for that." She couldn't hide the smile threatening to grow on her face, and eventually she joined her partner in giggling at the idea, adding, "He needs to curb that bad habit before it gets him in trouble!"

"Yeah, or _Blade_ might get jealous."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Oh, haha. Very funny." She doubted the absol would care one way or another, unless it got in the way of doing missions.

* * *

**Theme**: Complicated

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	3. Mission

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Today was going to be recorded in history as the worst day_ ever._

It started with Kitty being shoved out of bed at sunrise by an eager Sakura ready to start the day's missions, despite the protests about the harshness of the sun and getting up to combat it. Since becoming an umbreon, she had been getting more and more irritated with the daytime, squinting her eyes and gnashing her teeth as the light nearly became blinding, trying to ignore the heat her black fur intensified. She was beginning to wish she hadn't evolved after all; although her fur was shorter and so gave her more mobility, her coat was causing her to overheat when she wasn't under shade. It severely cut down their capabilities, and Kitty was sure to complain about it at least twenty times on any mission possible. _Maybe I should be nocturnal. That's when dark-types thrive anyways, right?_ Deciding not to worry about it for the time being, she let herself be dragged out of the base via Sakura's vines as her partner exclaimed, "We've got a _lot_ of work to do, Kitty! Pokemon to save, items to deliver, and our all-time favorite: Escorts!"

"Shoot me now," the umbreon grumbled, rubbing her eyes and yawning widely as her friend searched through their mail. Ignoring the confused look she received, she slowly padded over and asked halfheartedly, "So what do we have?"

"Some idiots went to Magma Cavern, for some reason." Shaking her head at the ludicrous idea, she continued, "They want out before they "wither up into horrible, ugly things!" "

"Grass-types?"

"Bellossom and Weepingbell, to be exact." At Kitty's snort, Sakura smiled and shook her head. "Oh, be quiet, you. You were complaining about the heat yesterday!"

"Yeah, but not the heat of a place full of _lava,_" Kitty countered, giving the letters a sour glare. "What else is there?" Sakura rolled her eyes but revealed the rest of the missions to her, and she waited patiently as her friend's eyes skimmed the many lines for each. She perked up and placed a paw on one, reading aloud, " "My daughter has run off somewhere, and I'm worried she might get herself into trouble. Can you help me find her?" Oh great, an escort mission. But hey, it's in Uproar Forest, where the trees are too dense to let in too much sunlight." She turned to Sakura and puffed out her bottom lip pitifully, letting it quiver a bit.

". . . Okay, okay," the grass-type rolled her eyes, ignoring the cheers she got in response, "_you_ go do the forest-related ones so you don't overexert your _delicate body,_ and _I'll_ go do the big bad ol' missions in the cavern." Giggling and poking Kitty with a vine, she asked carefully, "Are you going to be okay doing this alone, or should I give Blade a call?"

The umbreon scoffed. "Psh, _no._ I'll be fine! Trust me!"

An hour later, a particular voice calling to her from down the road caused her to regret her decision. Grimacing and automatically searching for possible escape routes, she slowly turned around to face the ghost-type strolling confidently towards her. Gengar had been acting very strange since the incident by Whiscash's pond; he was constantly spouting flirtatious dialogue, sporting that insanely smug grin on his face as she tried to ignore him. It was starting to unnerve her. _Why's he doing this? Is this another way to get under my skin?_ Shaking off her anxiety, Kitty stood up straight and, deciding not to let his bizarre behavior get to her, waited calmly for him to approach. When he did, she coolly addressed him to try to demonstrate how composed she was despite his best efforts. "Gengar."

"Kekeh, good morning, Kitty!" Offering a claw politely, his smirk grew when she refused to take it. As he eventually let it fall back to his side, he asked her casually, "Where are you off to?"

"Uh . . ." Not wanting to give him any specifics, she stuttered lamely, "j-just this way."

He raised an eyebrow curiously. ". . . Well, I'm going "this way," too. Keh, what a coincidence!" He started off down the road, whistling a merry tune to himself, and she sighed and rolled her eyes before following after him, wondering what he was up to now.

_I wake up early to go on an escort mission and bump into Gengar . . . today just keeps getting worse and worse._

* * *

**Theme**: Making History

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	4. Hot

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"Sooo." Kitty winced as the ghost-type tried to start up a conversation on the dirt path. "Where's your "BFF?" "

Glaring at his back, she threw back accusingly, "Where are your lackeys?"

He shortened his stride until he was alongside her, and his grin seemed to just keep growing exponentially. "Getting supplies, kekeh." At her questioning look, he shrugged and added, "They were too slow."

". . . huh." She returned her gaze ahead of her, silently willing Gengar to sink into the ground like the ghost he was and disappear, but he evidently didn't get the mental memo. Instead, he poked her shoulder once, twice, and a third time before she glared at him and hissed, "_What?_"

He seemed to enjoy her frustration, as usual, and answered with his own question. "Where's Sakura?"

"Oh, amazing. You know her name." Scowling at his snickering, she turned her head away to glare at a few bushes they passed. "She's off at Magma Cavern."

"Too hot for you, kekeh?"

She jerked her eyes back to him, shouting, "Shut up! It's not like _you've_ ever been there before!"

He scoffed and waved a claw offhandedly, closing his eyes haughtily. "Eh, I don't _need_ to go to a place like that to prove my strength." After letting her fume at his arrogance for a moment, a maroon eye slid open to watch her with interest. "So you're going somewhere by yourself for once? Kekeh, are you sure you'll be able to handle it?"

She scoffed, rolling her eyes at the implied insult. "I'll mop the _floor_ with these missions." A small part of her swelled giddily with this prideful exchange, and she remembered why she would partake in these silly arguments with him. _I can handle our crazy rivalry any day, Gengar,_ she thought with an exasperated sigh. _Just not this weird Casanova act you're doing now._

* * *

**Theme**: Rivalry

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	5. Daughter

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"What does your daughter look like, Ariados?"

The umbreon watched as the spider clacked his pincers thoughtfully, trying to form a proper description in his mind. "Well, she's cute as a button, for one. She has a hard blue shell that hides a pair of wings, and a long horn on top of her head. She's also very strong and can strip the bark off of trees with her claws in seconds. Her high spirits are as unbreakable as her shell, as well as her love of sap."

After thinking about it for a while, Kitty sighed and told him, "Okay, I give up. What's her name?"

His eyes seemed to twinkle with amusement, and he answered, "Her name is Heracross, and she's the cutest little thing you'll ever see." Satisfied with his escort's giggling, he turned around and beckoned to the forest around them. "Shall we?"

* * *

**Theme**: Unbreakable

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	6. Concern

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"Gengar, why do you seem to be obsessed with Kitty?"

The question had come out of nowhere, and the ghost blinked in surprise before turning to stare at the purple canine that had walked up to him. His answer was delayed but very Team Meanies-like in spirit. "Kekeh, what's it to you, mutt? Jealous?" His smirk grew when Granbull growled in warning, and he turned to his lackeys to order, "Let's go, Medicham, Ekans. We have some helpless and _rich_ pokemon to save!"

"Hey, where are you going? I'm not done with you!" When the ghost gave him a curious glance, he scolded, "You should stop toying with her, Gengar. She's not your plaything!"

"And you would know all there is about toys, wouldn't you, mutt?"

Granbull's eyes narrowed threateningly. "This is _serious._ I'm only going to say this once: Either stop playing games or leave her alone. She doesn't need to deal with _you_ as a reward for saving us all."

Gengar's grin only grew wider, as if mocking the dog's concern. "Oh, I see. Kekeh, I'll be sure to keep that in mind!"

* * *

**Theme**: Obsession

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	7. Worry

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Sakura paced worriedly in front of the base for what felt like an eternity. _Where _is_ she? Did she get lost? Is she still trying to find the ariados' daughter?_ _Was he actually a criminal that wanted to kidnap her? _Biting her lip and moaning softly, she scolded herself for ever letting her friend go off on her own. _She could be in trouble, and I'd never know!_

Half an hour later, the drowsy venusaur perked up at the sound of pawsteps close by, and she called out with a yawn, "Kitty? Is that you?"

"No." Instead of her dearest friend, a familiar absol stepped out of the shadows to greet his fellow rescuer with a nod. He glanced at the eevee-shaped house behind her and questioned, "Where is she?"

"She went to do a mission in Uproar Forest," Sakura explained glumly, "and she hasn't come back yet. She's been gone nearly all day, and I'm a little worried."

Blade nodded, eyes flashing with understanding. "She'll return," he mumbled, trying to reassure her as his maroon gaze began to pick out shapes in the darkness. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought he was looking for the umbreon himself. When he padded over to sit quietly beside her, she had to hide her knowing smile by turning her head away from him.

_I'm not the only one that cares about her._

* * *

**Theme**: Eternity

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	8. Serious

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"Excuse me, but what gateway to an alternate universe have you stumbled into?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I've stumbled into the _weird_ universe."

"I thought that's where you were from?" Kitty smiled when a vine playfully shoved her as they walked side-by-side down the dirt path towards Persian's bank to make a withdrawal. They were going on to a dungeon together this time, and it was going to be a long one; an escort and a rescue in separate parts of Uproar Forest (the umbreon was glad to have protection from the sun once more). The subject matter of their current conversation, however, was far from their mission. "But really, what gave you the impression that Blade worries about me? I mean, he doesn't seem to have any emotions, other than confusion or boredom. Or can you read his mind?"

"His mind? No." She snorted at the idea, and then explained, "But if you look _real_ closely, you can pick up subtle changes in his body language. For instance, he avoids young pokemon like the plague; ergo, I'd assume he's either uncomfortable around them or disgusted with them–or both."

Kitty rolled her eyes, commenting sarcastically, "Wow, way to go, making him seem like a total jerk." As her partner laughed, her confusion still didn't seem to settle on the matter. "But how can you pick up on that? I wouldn't have ever noticed unless you told me."

The venusaur only shrugged to that, then added as an afterthought, "Maybe I can read pokemon's thoughts more easily than you can? Not to say you're blind or anything," she quickly amended at her friend's scoff, "but maybe the signs are too subtle for you to find unless you're expecting them." The conversation was paused as they spoke with the feline banker, and after thanking him wholeheartedly for his services they turned and the discussion continued. "It's like how you're better at seeing in the dark now that you're an umbreon, since your eyes are sort of made for that. Except . . . hm, maybe I've just had more practice. I don't know." She allowed a sprinkling of mystery onto the topic as she let it slide, feeling they were both enlightened even though they had strayed far from the original point. All of this chatter had brought up more questions to Kitty's mind, though, and she wasn't afraid to voice them to her closest friend.

"Were you always good at that? Reading people, I mean." Her curiosity was so much like the feline they had just parted with that it made the grass-type smile in amusement. "Or did it take a long time to get better at it?"

"I'm sure it did," she allowed, and then explained in further detail when she received a confused look at her answer, "but I didn't notice I had a knack for it until very recently. Actually, it was only a few days after we saved the world that I figured it out consciously, although I've used it unintentionally beforehand to gather information. It's just an acquired social skill, I guess." After pondering over the past where she had used subtle cues to understand others' motives, her own curiosity peaked as she turned to her friend and asked, "Why? Do you want to learn how to yourself?"

"Yes," she admitted with an aggravated huff, "because then I might have a chance at figuring out what Team Meanies was plotting!"

Sakura's lopsided grin could only convey so much of her amusement at her friend's irritation with the ghost-type's advances. "Ah, that _would_ be worth investing time into. After all, if they _are_ planning something, it'd really give you an advantage over them." When her friend halted suddenly and gave her a bewildered frown, she mirrored it and inquired, "What? It would, wouldn't it?"

Kitty instead asked her incredulously as she continued their journey to Uproar Forest, "What do you mean, "_if_ they are planning something?" I think it's kind of obvious they are. I mean . . . come on, Gengar _flirting?_ I'd only be more surprised if he wrote _poetry._" They both couldn't help the grins that mental image brought to their faces, but after they died down the umbreon continued seriously, "I just don't have a clue what he'd get out of this. Really, what's the point, other than being weird?" Her contemplative glare aimed at the ground persisted for a long time afterwards, dropping a heavy silence over their heads as they trekked swiftly over the wide plains and meadows that separated them from their destination. The venusaur realized how bothered she really was over this strange turn of events, and she examined the solemn expression on her friend's face before falling into her own contemplation, trying to figure out something to lift the dark-type's spirits. Eventually, though, a stray thought brought about her own amusement and a quiet chuckle, which in turn brought her friend's attention to her. "What?"

Sakura shook her head, saying dismissively, "Oh, nothing, Kitty. I was just–haha, I was just thinking of the tiny, far-off and slim chance that perhaps Gengar was being _serious_ about his advances." She snorted again, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye as she sighed with heavy contentment. "Phewie, that's a funny thought. Imagine that!"

What she didn't expect was the umbreon's horrified expression at the suggestion, or the way her voice cracked when she protested, "Oh, _God!_ Why would you ever say something like that? _Ugh._" The grimace she made at the idea caused Sakura to cackle evilly at the revulsion she had caused with her random thought. "Oh man, that's gross. Gengar, being _serious_ about . . . yuck!"

When the initial amusement had worn off and the silence had started to creep between them once more, Sakura chased it away with a curious question she couldn't stop herself from asking: "If he _was_ serious, though . . . what would you do?" She met her friend's gaze calmly, raising an eyebrow to show she did indeed expect an answer from the umbreon.

After a bit of casting about the scenery for clues, Kitty went back to return the stare, and her voice was oddly soft with surprisingly real fear. "What . . . _should_ I do?"

* * *

**Theme**: Gateway

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	9. Close Call

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Kitty rushed to her friend's side, still slightly panicked as she asked, "Sakura, are you alright?" The bug move could've been devastating, and since it had come out of the blue there hadn't been enough time for her to dodge it.

"I'm fine," she grunted, failing to alleviate Kitty's fears as she wearily got back to her feet and shook off imaginary dust. Casting a glance around the room for their escort and finding the plusle waiting shakily, she sighed in relief. "Come on, we've got a job to do."

Escaping death was just another part of being a rescuer.

* * *

**Theme**: Death

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	10. Violence

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Sakura caught sight of a familiar purple blur in the crowd at Pokemon Square and carefully muttered, "Uh-oh. Don't look now, Kitty, but Gengar's coming over here."

"Oh, you know that makes me want to look." Barely resisting the urge, she ducked her head and whispered, "Any chance we can escape?"

"None." At her friend's aggravated groan, she offered helpfully, "We could act as if we've grown blind and ignore them, or that we've got an important mission to do."

"And that'll stop him?"

"Good point." The venusaur scowled at the arrogant ghost striding towards them, but irritation turned to surprise and then suspicion when she noticed his teammates were curiously absent. _What is he up to?_ When he came close enough to converse without raising his voice, she was cautious when asking about his lone presence. "Where are your lackeys, Gengar?"

He scoffed, jerking a thumb in the general vicinity behind him. "Being slow, as usual." Then, as if he decided Sakura's presence was inconsequential to his plan, he turned and greeted the black fox warmly, smirking at the suspicion in her narrowed maroon eyes. "Kekekeh, the work of a hero is never done, huh?"

"The work of a _rescuer_," she corrected with a meaningful glance towards his bag, where she assumed his badge lay hidden amongst his spoils, "is never done. Speaking of which, we have a date with a fearow with an injured wing. If you'll _excuse me–_" She attempted to step past him without further conversation, only managing to take a couple of steps before he squeezed between her and her teammate, much to their irritation. The simple excuses and reasoning they utilized in the past didn't seem to work anymore, and it infuriated Kitty that he didn't seem get the hint. _Or he's ignoring it, which is even worse._

"A "date," you say?" Immediately, she cursed her choice of words, wishing she had hands and hair to tear out with those hands. Sakura might've been better at avoiding embarrassment as well as reading body language. "I'm jealous of that birdbrain, kekeh!" It took all of her willpower not to smack him in the face with either her tail or a shadow ball, but he certainly wasn't helping preserve his own good health. He whistled in mock-admiration, continuing, "After all, _two_ girls at _once?_ Let alone saviors of the _world?_"

_Will the pokemon here ever create painkillers, or will they always rely on berries? _"Don't you have some young, unsuspecting people to con out of their money or something?"

He feigned disappointment and placed a claw over his heart, although his grin never wavered for a moment. "That hurts, it really does."

"Something _else_ is going to hurt in a second." Her mouth twitched as she barely suppressed a feral snarl at his dogged attempts to–annoy her? _Sakura, _please_ tell me you're reading his "subtle cues" or something, because I'm totally lost._

"Ohoho, touchy, are we?" His smirk grew to unfathomable proportions, much to her dismay, and belatedly she realized that being egged on was just what he was aiming for. _Way to fuel the fire, idiot._ He crossed his arms as if mulling over something important, closing his eyes as he told her sagely, "Violence does not solve every problem in the world."

"Although it certainly is a very attractive option," the venusaur "mumbled" from his other side, earning a snort from her friend and a roll of the eyes from the ghost. She peeked around him and winked, jokingly asking, "Don't you agree, Kitty?"

The wicked, frightening grin on her face spelled trouble for all on her bad side, and she answered cheerfully, "Oh, yes, I do. After all, violence _did_ help us get past those powerful birds, and convince the Mankey Gang not to cause anymore trouble."

"Don't forget the earthquakes it stopped," Sakura added, clearly enjoying herself. _Hey, we're both sadistic people. Who would've thought?_

"Hey! It even helped saved the world!" The umbreon returned the wink with barely contained glee, feeling much better than she had before. "Don't you agree, Gengar?"

He scoffed, obviously uncomfortable with how they suddenly turned bright and sugary at the mentioning of violence. "Okay, it might help a _lot,_ but it's certainly not the _best_ solution." When Kitty turned her deceivingly sweet smile on him, he visibly stiffened as his wary gaze looked for any sign of attack. If fake smiles could kill, he'd probably be dead a hundred times over–or could he die? He was a ghost, after all. A brief second of considering the idea, and then she decided it didn't really matter.

"Oh, I beg to differ. Opportunities for its sacred assistance show up often enough; I hardly think it's all coincidence. Such as now!" When he started at her sudden declaration, she tilted her head to one side as she seemed to mull carefully over her words, and amazingly shook her head to disagree with what she just said. "Well, okay, maybe it's not the _best_ solution . . ."

Letting out a relieved sigh, he paused as he gave her confession some actual thought. "Er, what's the best solution?"

"Letting you live and suffer for many days to come." She smiled triumphantly at the exasperated groan she managed to pull out of him–and found it ironic that their roles had somewhat reversed. _Shoot, no wonder he bothers me so much–this is fun!_

* * *

**Theme**: Opportunities

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	11. Statistics

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

". . . there's a seventy-five point zero one percent chance of encountering a sandshrew who knows dig in Great Canyon, and exactly a thirty-three percent chance of encountering a _female_ sandshew who knows dig–and there's also a thirteen point seven percent chance . . ."

The porygon rambled about percentages and statistics, unaware of the girls' growing irritation. Sakura was chanting the several ways a rescuer should _not_ injure his or her escort, and the umbreon winced at every "and" the intelligent pokemon tacked onto an increasingly run-on sentence–paragraph–novel? It might as well have been a collection of encyclopedias, with all of the information he was willingly sharing. Kitty whispered to her partner, "I can't believe I'm going to say this . . . but I'm starting to miss _Gengar._"

"I'd laugh, but so am I." Pulling herself up arrogantly, she attempted to imitate the ghost's cackle. "_Kekekeh, missing me already? I'm surprised, I didn't know I was _that_ attractive! Kekekekekeh!_" She smiled as Kitty snickered at her impersonation, glad to bring her attention off of the exasperating escort, if only momentarily. Glancing at the pink-and-blue pokemon and wincing when she realized he was still rambling about his precious numbers, she muttered, "If I ever accept another mission from this guy, smack some sense into me."

". . . and there's an eighty-nine point one zero three five nine percent chance that you'll be attacked by a mouse-like pokemon while traversing dark forests . . ."

* * *

**Theme**: 33 % (percent)

_Lot of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	12. Spring Cleaning

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Kitty had assumed that she would get used to Gengar's strange behavior eventually and develop a routine to ignore his antics–if she didn't kill him first. She was disappointed to find out that she was dead wrong.

Walking down the path towards the bridge that connected her to town, she hadn't expected to be caught alone by the ghost a second time in the past month and was regretting her decision to tell Sakura to have a day off. _I almost ordered her to relax, actually, and now I'm wishing I had let her talk me out of it. Why are good deeds always punished?_ She cast him a glare that clearly showed how aggravated she was with his presence as her pace quickened in hopes of leaving him behind, but he simply took longer strides to keep walking alongside her as his smile expanded into an arrogant smirk. She huffed quietly. "I don't think you're getting the hint, Gengar. Leave me _alone._"

"Kekeh, I'm getting it, don't worry. I'm just choosing to ignore it." When she groaned rather loudly at his statement, he snickered before asking lightly, "So where's your BFF _this_ time?"

"Your lackeys?" They seemed to have this exchange often, for some reason.

"Slow to wake up," he answered with a scoff before giving her an expectant stare, and she sighed halfhearted before she decided that she might as well tell him the truth. _He'll figure it out eventually, anyways. No point in hiding it._

"She's on a holiday." As he nodded in deep thought, the gears kicking into high-gear in his head, she mentally grimaced before informing him of the day's plans with the hope that the long list of tedious chores and such would scare him away. "I'm off to help Kangaskhan organize her storage, dust the kecleon brothers' shelves and any odd jobs that the villagers need. Then I have a simple escort mission in Great Canyon that shouldn't take too long, an item delivery for a gummi fanatic, and I'll finish up the day by going to the other members of the team to distribute missions. Then, hopefully, I'll get a good night's sleep." She closed her mouth when she had finished reciting her schedule, suddenly feeling like she had talked too much, only to open it again to tentatively ask him, "What about you?"

He had seemed entertained by her busy day and unexpectedly talkative mood, and his amusement showed in his voice as he answered casually, "Well, I _was_ going to go do some rather boring missions with my team, but now I think I'd rather spend time with _you._" He was expecting her shocked squeak and grinned at the way her mouth opened and closed without forming any words. "Your day sounds a _lot_ more fun, kekekeh."

Kitty was horrified to find her plan had completely backfired on her, and her indignation was evident in the way her voice was shrill when she finally managed to ask incredulously, "_What?_"

"We can split the profits," he went on as if he hadn't heard her, starting to count on his claws as if already calculating his income while she spluttered huffy nonsense. "I'm sure that'll help things move along faster, too. Kekeh, I'll go warn my teammates that they'll be wandering by themselves for the rest of the day." He gave her a conspiratorial wink before setting off to inform Ekans and Medicham of the change in plans, but not before calling back to her smugly, "Don't worry, I won't be gone long!"

She scowled and gave him a fierce "Take your time!" as she wondered ironically about Blade's absence. _Aren't absol supposed to be able to sense oncoming disasters? Where _is_ he, then?_ She laughed quietly and grimaced when it sounded bittersweet, and her heavy sigh showed her exhaustion even in the early hours of the morning. "And here I was hoping today would be productive . . ." Dragging her feet into town and kicking every pebble she came across, she approached the cheery owner of storage and mumbled sourly, "Good morning, Kangaskhan." She was beginning to regret waking up today, and she wondered idly if she could pull off a faint and sleep through the rest of the day.

"Well, don't sound too excited," the mother muttered, then cocked her head to the side and asked curiously, "What's the matter? Are you tired?"

Kitty sighed and walked around the counter to glance at the shelves filled with bins that she was supposed to sort–now with Gengar's help. "Ignoring the irritating sunlight, I unfortunately have a helper today."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" When the fox only scowled, the normal-type placed her claws on her hips and scolded her lack of appreciation for the additional help. "Otherwise, you and I would have to do this all by ourselves! Any help is welcome."

She rolled her eyes at the motherly pokemon's misguided scolding. "Well, _yeah,_ but not when it's a certain ghost-type that's been acting really _weird_ lately."

"Oh, you'll be fine," Kangaskhan disagreed with a short shake of her head before handing her one of the bins on the very top and started to instruct her on the organization system she used. By the time Gengar returned, she had already started working, and she refused to look at him as the owner of the storehouse turned to greet him warmly and thank him for his help. "I'm sure Kitty is grateful, too," she added, giving the dark-type a stern look before explaining what they were doing, and the smug grin he gave to Kitty made her want to smack him–when Kangaskhan wasn't watching, of course. They took down bins, rummaged through them and reordered the items there according to kind, size and use, and it was mostly quiet except for the occasional question from either of the assistants when they were unsure of an object's placement. During this time, Kitty had plenty of time to fume over the events that had conspired that morning to ruin her day, and by the time they had all finished with their respective side of the hut she had childishly decided it was all Gengar's fault. _I need _someone_ to blame._ Grumbling darkly to herself, she barely nodded at the normal-type's farewell and scowled when "and thank you, Gengar" was added as an afterthought.

He clapped his hands together eagerly, seeming to have enjoyed the change of pace the chore had provided. "Right. What's next, Kitty?" He turned to her with a glint in his eyes that she didn't appreciate, and she grimaced when he remembered what she had said earlier. "Oh! The kecleon brothers, that's right. Kekekeh, well, let's go!" He strode on ahead, not seeming to notice how she lagged behind as he hummed a cheery tune to himself that sounded oddly familiar. Shaking her head and deciding to just bear with it, she caught up to him just as he finished explaining things to the brothers–who looked reasonably anxious at the thought of letting him near their wares. _Finally, someone's acting like they should around here._

"Don't worry," she reassured the kecleon as she pushed into the shed behind them, "he won't steal anything. I'll keep an eye on him."

Gengar smirked and followed her into the shed, asking mischievously, "You'll be watching me, eh? Kekeh, I was _waiting_ for you to notice how handsome I am." He cackled at her skeptical huff and stepped forward to grab the orb from her, explaining when she glared at him, "Keh, wouldn't want you hurting yourself on _my_ watch."

"How backwards," she mumbled as she sourly dragged a box of TMs away so she could clear its place of dust, but stopped when she heard a soft snort from beside her and glanced at the ghost with a scowl. "What?"

He raised an eyebrow at her hostility and calmly asked, "When have I ever hurt? You make it sound as if I used to beat you up or something." She narrowed her eyes at his words, and his mouth twitched in amusement before he challenged her, "Kekeh, go ahead. Name _one time_ when I hurt you–physically."

She gritted her teeth as her first example, ruining her reputation, was eliminated by the specific condition. "Alright, well . . ." She trailed off when nothing came to mind immediately to rebuke him, and Gengar watched her with a satisfied smirk on his face as she struggled with her memories. After a while of leaving her sentence unfinished, she perked up and answered energetically, "Team Foxfire's first day, when you forced your way into our mailbox. You–"

He raised a claw to stop her, and as she fumed over his interruption he coolly countered, "But I pushed _Sakura_ aside, not you. You were standing away from the mailbox. And no," he quickly added when she looked like she was going to protest, "hurting her doesn't count as hurting you." He chuckled at her growl of frustration and leaned against a shelf, crossing his arms smugly as he appeared to be triumphant. "Kekeh, face it, Kitty, I haven't laid a claw on you. Not _once_ have I hurt a single hair on your pretty little head!"

Scoffing at his compliment before furrowing her eyebrows in deep concentration, her efforts were rewarded as an incident _did_ come to mind–she quickly turned on him and contradicted his claim, pointing out proudly, "What about when we were both looking for Metapod? You attacked us towards the end, and I _especially_ remember how you decided a lick attack was appropriate for the situation." She grimaced at the disturbing memory, remembering how disgusted she had been as she used her pecha scarf after the battle to wipe away the remaining saliva on her. "So _ha!_"

His eyebrows flew up at the reminder, as if the memory had completely escaped him until she brought it up, but then he gave a soft, surprised laugh as his confident demeanor returned. "I admit, you've got me there. I remember how you tasted like a hairball." Smirking at her noise of resentment and laughing louder this time, he then put a claw to his face as if scratching his chin in thought as he mumbled distractedly, "Maybe a move like sweet kiss _would_ have been more appropriate . . ."

Kitty choked on air at the mad suggestion. "N-no, it wouldn't have. I would've just kicked you even _harder._" She tried to get the mental image out of her mind as quickly as she could, but a shuffling sound distracted her as she turned her head to see what he was doing–only to have his claw tucked beneath her chin and force her to stare into his face with wide eyes. "W-what–"

He smirked at her panicked confusion, and he dropped his voice to a whisper so the kecleon brothers outside wouldn't be able to hear him if they were eavesdropping. "I wonder . . . what would you do if I kissed you now?" His fingers twitched slightly as he watched her expression for something, and after he seemed to find what he was looking for, he mulled over it for what felt like an eternity before releasing her with a cheeky grin. She backpedaled so quickly that she stumbled over her own feet and accidentally kicked an orb across the room, causing it to react and explode with a flurry of wind that unsettled many of the items in their storage boxes. Alarmed by the sharp sound of breaking glass, the older brother poked his head into the hut and examined the shattered remains of a blowback orb with disdain, looking to Kitty for an explanation.

"I'll pay for that," she whispered miserably.

Turning back to the shelf and swabbing the thick layer of dust with his finger, Gengar examined how dirty it became before telling her smoothly, "We've got a lot of work to do. Kekeh, we better get paid handsomely!" She could only nod mutely, ears and tail drooping in despair as she tried to work as far away from him as possible in the small hut. She missed Sakura.

* * *

**Theme**: Dead Wrong

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	13. Cotton Candy

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Kitty had to convince herself that she wasn't afraid of Gengar as she tried to convince him simultaneously that she could handle the mission by herself. "I've gone through dungeons without Sakura before," she told him, "and I don't need help now. So go ahead and reunite with your teammates; I'm sure _they'd_ appreciate your company."

Her slight went unnoticed, as usual. "But I can't possibly let you go off on your own; my conscience wouldn't allow it!"

She reared back in surprise, and she repeated incredulously, "You have a conscience? Wait," she stopped him from answering as she rolled her eyes, "never mind, I know the answer to that: _Kekeh, yeah, I just don't listen to it most of the time!_" Frowning as she tried to find something that would make him leave, she scowled when nothing came to mind and simply said, "Look, I'll be fine! Just go and terrorize someone _else_ for a change!" She whipped around and stalked off, alert for the sound of his footsteps so she could prepare a shadow ball to warn him off. _I swear, he's _the_ most stubborn person I've _ever_ met! He even beats Articuno!_ Just as the telltale crunch of dirt underfoot warned her of his approach, she nearly collided into a familiar cotton-candy-colored block levitating over the path–and wanted to cry. _Worst. Day. Ever!_

Porygon bobbed up and down in excitement, calling happily, "Ah, Kitsune of Team Foxfire! What a surprise to see you here!" Drawing closer as if she was magnetic, he added as an afterthought, "There was only a twenty-five point three nine two percent chance that I'd find you here–" He paused, looking over her closely as if realizing something was amiss before he tentatively said, "Alone . . . ?"

Kitty opened her mouth to try to find a way to escape the imminent loss of her sanity, but a voice behind her caused her fur to go on end as it corrected, "Kekeh, no, she's not alone." She mentally groaned at her luck as Gengar stepped beside her, wondering which legendary she had angered into causing her such misery. _Zapdos _was_ a bit of a sore loser, but I don't know whether lightning is really the cause here . . ._

She was surprised by the piercing shriek Porygon gave at the appearance of the ghost-type, and as she winced at the harsh ringing in her ears the animated toy stuttered, "Kitsune, leader of Team Foxfire and savior of the world, not with Sakura, co-founder of Team Foxfire and co-savior of the world–and accompanied by Gengar, leader of Team Meanies and the cause of her exile? Th-that's not possible! It doesn't make sense!" He screamed at the improbability of the situation–_The feeling's mutual, _Kitty thought as she barely restrained herself from screaming with him–and turned tail on the two of them as if to escape the time paradox just waiting to happen. Just like that, one of her problems of the day was solved, simply because Gengar was being unconventionally stubborn.

Staring after the pink-and-blue running away from them, the umbreon found she only had two words to say to the ghost-type: "_Thank you._" She received a confused frown in return.

* * *

**Theme**: Running Away

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	14. Wisdom

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Ariados carefully checked the whereabouts of his daughter–she was bouncing happily behind them–before turning to his escort, asking delicately, "What bothers you, miss?" His sharp eyes were quick to pick up Kitty's distress, and so she had come to mentally christen him "Sherlock Holmes the ariados." _My mother loved those books._ Pausing to consider his next words, the spider ventured curiously, "You seem to be troubled by something."

_I think you mean some_one_,_ she mentally corrected before heaving a sigh and shaking her head at his inquisitiveness. "It's nothing important, Ariados. I don't want to dump my problems onto you."

He clacked his pincers together in amusement, waving away her concern with a thin leg. "You aren't bothering _me,_ miss; after all, _I_ was the one that asked." When she still didn't seem to be convinced, he chuckled and motioned for her to disclose her worries and woes, glancing behind them once more to verify that his daughter was still with them. "This old spider might have a word or two of advice, if it pleases you."

She frowned, thinking over it for a while before deciding that she could trust the older pokemon's judgment. He seemed like a very caring paternal figure, something she missed dearly from her own father, and it caused her to loosen her lips on the troubling issues that had been bothering her for days. "Well . . . someone I know has had a very strange change of heart and . . . he's acting really weird now."

Sherlock hummed thoughtfully at her words, inquiring, "Weird how?" After she explained some of the things Gengar had done (excluding earlier that day, with the almost-kiss), his pincers went to clacking as he became pensive for several minutes. His daughter, Heracross, was the only one to speak during that time, trying to coax praise out of the spider when she pointed out certain berries and pokemon (Kitty had to quickly knock out the latter before the child got into trouble), and she giggled nearly nonstop as she enjoyed her the journey with her father and his friend. The sight of the energetic and joyful bug prancing about them collecting flowers brought a smile to Kitty's face, and she accepted a few for herself as the little girl placed them carefully on her head. If she didn't shake her head too much, they were secure enough, so she took her time aiming shadow balls at the pokemon that tried to destroy the quiet group's peace as she waited for the ariados' wisdom.

Finally, he gave another hum and nodded, seizing her attention once more as he asked her slowly, "And he's never showed any . . . _romantic_ interest in you before, you say? That _is_ odd." Mulling over it a moment more, he carefully went over how he was going to discuss these circumstances with her. "Well, I remember when _I_ was young many years ago, and I _did_ enjoy teasing the ladies that I thought were cute. While it may seem out of place for him," he went on as she made a face at both his suggestion and his compliment, "it may simply be him growing up . . . or at least opening his eyes. Perhaps your heroic acts caused him to reconsider his behavior around you?"

"I don't know," she mumbled uncertainly, completely lost on the subject of the ghost-type that pestered her relentlessly. "He seems to enjoy _bothering_ me more than he does the flirting aspect of it. It's like he's looking for specific reactions or something from me."

"Ah," Sherlock chuckled at her choice of words, "that might be the heart of the matter. Either he's searching for what bothers you the most . . . or he's looking for your honest opinion of him."

Kitty furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. ". . . uh. Can't he just ask me directly?"

He questioned back smoothly, "Would _you_ ask someone what they thought of you after you nearly ruined their life?" When she conceded on that point, he added with a spidery grin, "And, much to your shock and disbelief, he might actually be shy."

That did her in; she snorted at the suggestion before bursting into a fit of giggles, and as he watched her in amusement she gasped in between bouts of laughter, "Shy? _Him?_ Oh, man, you do _not_ know the guy!"

"No, I don't," he admitted, "but from what I've heard of him, he's very proud of his image. He takes great care in keeping the reputation of a generally spiteful person for reasons I can't even fathom." Looking on ahead to watch his daughter skip happily, he muttered half to himself, "It makes me wonder what he's trying to hide."

* * *

**Theme**: Judgment

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	15. Visiting

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Kitty yawned, revealing her neat pearly fangs and pink tongue as she stretched like a lethargic feline before shaking the remaining drowsiness from her thoughts as she looked at her partner in concern. "What's wrong, Sakura?" The venusaur had come seeking solace, and she was prepared to give her a shoulder to lean against–metaphorically–and an ear to talk into falling off. "Come on, you can talk to me." She rested on her haunches as she waited for the grass-type to spill the beans, summoning all of the patience she had honed dealing with Gengar to let her speak her mind when she was ready. _Wow, he was actually useful for something. That's weird._

"I . . . well . . ." Sakura sighed and lowered her body to rest on the ground, preparing herself for a difficult talk. "I feel really bad about asking this, but . . . do you think I could leave for a bit?"

The umbreon didn't hesitate in reassuring her friend. "Of course! If you need to do something, I don't mind." Curiosity got the better of her, though, and she carefully asked, "Would you care to elaborate on that . . . ?"

The look on Sakura's face could best be described as intensely guilt ridden as she bit her lip and avoided her gaze. "Well, it's been a long time, and . . . I thought it'd be a good time to go . . . visit my folks."

". . . Oh." The reason for the venusaur's reluctance became clear, and so Kitty forced herself to put on a cheery smile for her friend's benefit. "Sure, Sakura. I wouldn't dare keep you away from your family. You didn't really have to ask, you know . . ."

"I know, but I didn't want you thinking . . . well." Letting out a relieved sigh that ruffled the umbreon's fur, the grass-type finally smiled and told her, "Thank you so much, Kitty. I didn't want to ask you about it, but it's been almost a year . . ."

"No, I understand!" She smiled at a distant memory, her eyes glazing over in her reminiscing as she mumbled distractedly, "I know how parents can be when they're worrying about their kid." Taking a moment to remember her own parents, she quickly banished their images from her mind as she nodded in confirmation of her decision. "Yep. Don't worry about me, Sakura; I'll keep the team running while you're gone!"

"Heehee, I wonder how you'll be able to manage, with only half a brain!" Enduring the slap of her tail with a giggle, the venusaur stood up and lightly pushed her with a vine before turning towards the door to leave her be for the night. Before she left, however, she turned to stare at her friend with grateful tears shining in her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered before stepping out the door, leaving the fox to her thoughts in the darkness.

Kitty smiled at her friend's happiness before it was swallowed by the reminder that she couldn't do the same. _There's no way that I can just hop across dimensions or worlds and pop in to say "hi"–I don't even think I could change back into a human._ The corners of her mouth dropped into a deep frown as tears pricked at her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away with a paw before returning to her straw bed and tried to sleep as the ghosts of the past and the impossibilities of the future haunted her into her dreams.

* * *

**Theme**: Seeking Solace

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	16. Tag Along

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Imagine Kitty's surprise when a familiar absol decided to make an unexpected visit to her home early the next morning. She had been lying peacefully enough in bed, enjoying her sleep for as long as she could, when a painful tug on her ear forced her out of her slumber and into the waking world. Grumbling darkly about inconsiderate jerks and needing energy to beat them up, she blinked owlishly up at Blade and managed a faint, "G'mornin'."

"Hm." Watching the way her eyelids fluttered closed and her head tipped down to rest on her chest, he nudged her with his foot to prevent her from falling back asleep. "Get up."

"Ugh. But I dun _wanna_ . . ." Enduring a few more nudges before another tug on her ear made her stir again, she groaned and got to her feet with a sour, "Alright, I'm _up._ Geez. Ruining my sleep and kicking me . . ." She grumbled darkly as she followed Blade out the door and over to the mailbox, until finally her senses came back to her and she was able to be confused by his presence. "Wait, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Helping," was his only answer as he rifled through the missions, pulling out a chunk of them and gripping them with his teeth. Walking back into the hut, he ignored her curious gaze as he sorted through the mail to organize what needed to be done that day. Pushing some aside and stacking others into a pile, he eventually picked a few to do and let her examine them–an escort, a rescue and an item delivery, all fairly close to each other in the dark depths of Sinister Woods. He didn't let her dwell on that for long, though, as she had to hurry out of the base after him with the letters in her mouth.

"Where are we going," she asked him around the mouthful of paper, watching him curiously for the subtle cues Sakura had talked about before; he blinked, flicked his gaze to her, and then returned to staring ahead of him. _Uh. What's _that_ mean?_ For the millionth time that month, she realized how much she missed Sakura when she was gone. _She'd be able to figure out what he's thinking, I'm sure._

"To get supplies," he replied, voice naturally smooth like velvet, concealing whatever emotions he might have been feeling behind a rigid, calm mask. The mystery that surrounded him gave him the advantage in battle, but it also made it difficult for his teammates to understand him whenever he decided to remain silent. Kitty almost envied his ability to hold up a poker face and leave others in the dark as to his thoughts, but she didn't think he could drop it.

Frowning at his strange behavior (_What is with everyone being strange nowadays?_), she carefully mumbled, "I could've gone by myself, y'know . . ." Surprisingly, he glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow skeptically, making her grow defensive as she defended shrilly, "What? I could too!"

"After waking up late, and _only_ because I forced you up," he countered calmly, eyebrow and doubt unyielding, "you expect me to believe you could walk from your house to the square and _not_ get into trouble?" He scoffed as his claws clacked against the dry wooden bridge, muttering half to himself, "Right."

She scowled at his lack of faith in her, arguing, "Hey, I've been a rescuer for a long time, okay? And I've been doing _fine,_ thank you very much."

"Because Sakura wouldn't let you get into trouble." Growling at his words, she turned her head away from him childishly, giving a small huff to show her displeasure. "How mature of you. You're really proving your point, you know."

"Oh, shut up," she snapped, looking over only to give him a glare before strutting ahead and approaching Kangaskhan with her chin held high. She acquired the items she thought they'd need, scowled when he asked to bring extra provisions, and finally walked away from storage to see what the kecleon brothers had to sell. "I can _do_ this," she grumbled to the absol when he tried to take over the shopping, and he rolled his eyes as she haggled with the younger brother for a handful of apples.

"How does Sakura deal with you and your moods," he "mumbled" as they started the relatively short journey towards the woods, earning himself another glare from the fox beside him.

"How does she deal with _yours,_" she shot back angrily, rolling her eyes when he only snorted at her childish retort. "Seriously, I don't think I'll be able to go through the rest of today without socking you at _least_ once."

" "Socking?" "

"Never mind. Look," she attempted one last time to get rid of him, "I _really_ don't need to kill one of my teammates while Sakura's gone. Do you know how mad she'd be if she came back to find us one member short?"

"All the more reason for me to tag along," he answered calmly, "to make sure you _don't_ kill anyone."

_Why do I have the feeling these are just excuses to watch over me while Sakura's gone?_ He ignored her irritated glower to instead focus on the road ahead of them, and let out a frustrated huff before letting it be. _How many times am I going to have to tell people that I can do missions by myself? I saved the freakin' world! What more do you want from me?_ Reminded of the times the villagers had said she couldn't handle Groudon after Team A.C.T. had been defeated, she wondered if they just underestimated her because of her size. _I hate being short._

* * *

**Theme**: Excuses

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	17. Look Out For

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Another day in the company of Blade had started out just as splendid as the day before–as in it didn't go well at all. Getting splashed with water was _not_ how she wanted to wake up, but it seemed he had found it a fitting way to rouse the hero of the world. As she spluttered and shook herself as dry as she could, he brought in her mail and ignored her silent fury as he sorted through it again, picking out missions for the distant Frosty Forest where the sun was always hidden behind clouds packed with snow. "How nostalgic," she commented sarcastically, and he only snorted softly before grabbing their pack and heading out the door, ignoring her dark mutters as they traveled to town to pick up supplies once more. Before they finished crossing the bridge, though, they unfortunately met a familiar ghost with his teammates behind him. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of the finally complete Team Meanies and asked incredulously, "They actually kept up?"

"Kekeh, _no,_" Gengar snorted, jerking a thumb behind him and correcting, "I _waited_ for them." As the two gave him sour looks for calling them out, he eyed the absol that stepped slightly in front of her, matching Blade's cold gaze with his own. Never taking his eyes off of him, he observed mockingly, "So you've got a new bodyguard? Strange choice, I've got to admit. Kekeh, he doesn't look fit to fight a _weedle,_ let alone anything _threatening._"

Blade's eyes narrowed dangerously at the insult, and before Kitty could point out that he had been with her to Sky Tower he snarled acidly, "Like _you?_" Snorting at the idea and looking content with the scowl that crossed the ghost's face, he motioned for Kitty to follow him to Kangaskhan's storage and shouldered them roughly to get past. The black fox hurried after him, casting a glance behind her at the disgruntled look on Gengar's face before turning to watch her new partner's stiff strides, amazed at the anger she saw rolling off of him in waves. _Holy–I don't need Sakura's insight to see how pissed he is. _This_ is a first._ She mulled over the idea that Blade was just as annoyed by the ghost as she was, and then wondered why. _I don't think he's done anything to him . . . has he?_

She jumped when he spun around to examine her confused expression, and he quickly cooled down as if he had just realized how expressive he was being. He turned away as if to avoid her gaze and went off at a much calmer pace, smoothly asking her as if the last few minutes hadn't occurred, "Think you'll be warm enough in the snow?"

She blinked, baffled by the sudden question. "Uh, yeah," she stuttered, "but I think the more important question is "what the hell was that?" Did Gengar ruffle your fur or something?" She winced when he cast a glare over his shoulder before realizing he wasn't looking at her, and she followed his gaze towards the figures of Team Meanies down the road as she stopped herself from questioning him any further. _Seems I've hit a sore spot._

"It's not _my_ fur he's ruffled," he muttered unexpectedly, facing forward once more as he quickened his pace towards Kangaskhan. Kitty halted in her tracks and watched him go, eyes widening when she finally understood where all of his anger towards Gengar came from. _He's not looking for revenge for _himself _. . . he's looking out for _me.

* * *

**Theme**: Vengeance

_Lots of draon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	18. Watch Over

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Sitting on the roof of her base underneath the waning moon, Kitty was almost scared out of her skin when a voice whispered into her ear, "_Hello._" Jumping with a scream and nearly tumbling off of the hut, her heart tried to burst out of her ribcage as she searched for the person responsible for nearly killing her. Her ears perked up at a familiar cackle ringing through the air before they lied flat against her skull, and she scowled as Gengar materialized a few feet from where she was sitting, mischievous grin stretching his face until she thought it would split in half. Crossing his arms smugly and leaning to one side, he mockingly asked, "Kekeh, did I scare you?"

Shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath, Kitty focused on keeping herself under control and _not_ firing a shadow ball at his arrogant face. _Don't kill him, don't kill him, don't kill him . . ._ She repeated the mantra in her head for a few heartbeats before opening her eyes and questioning him warily, "What do you want, Gengar?"

He raised an eyebrow at her question as if the answer should've been obvious, and then his grin shrunk to a slightly more natural and logical size. "What, I can't talk to my favorite umbreon?" He seemed to enjoy her suspicious snort even as he explained calmly, "I was just passing by and saw you sitting on your roof."

"Sure."

His grin then fell into a puzzled frown, and he questioned curiously, "Why _are_ you sitting on your roof?" The idea seemed absurd to him, and after a moment of mulling over the idea she realized that it was a strange concept. She smiled at how odd she must have looked, sitting on her roof and staring up at the dark sky. _Let _him_ be the confused one for a change!_

Feeling a bit generous now that she had had her chance to puzzle him, Kitty eagerly provided her reasoning for being where she was. "There's a better view up here," she explained evenly, making a sweeping motion with her tail in demonstration when he didn't seem to get it. "You can see a great distance." She had always enjoyed climbing trees and such when she was a human and watching the world go on without her, and this fascination with heights and beautiful views transferred flawlessly over to a world where nature was all around her and she was better equipped for climbing. With strong legs to leap from branch to branch, claws to better grip the bark and a tail to balance her, she could reach the top of a tree in seconds. It was unfortunate that she didn't have enough free time and energy between missions, or she would spend most of it going up trees and mountains.

". . . Right." Still a little perplexed by her reasoning, he shook his head and muttered, "Never thought of you as a people-watcher. Creepy."

She scoffed. "Says the ghost who enjoys _sneaking up_ on people." Rolling her eyes at his mischievous grin, she turned her back to him and looked across the plains south of her base. "Besides, there aren't many people out here at night. Other than you."

"And _you,_" he pointed out cheekily as he took the steps that remained between them and settled down beside her, grinning at her annoyed huff before gesturing towards the land around the eevee-shaped hut. "What's so amazing out there that you have to climb onto your roof to see?"

"Don't you see it?" When he shook his head with a puzzled frown, she tipped her head in the general direction of the horizon and teased, "It's _right there,_ stupid. How can you _not_ see it?"

He huffed irritably, not liking her confident demeanor when it came at his expense. "Geh, see _what?_"

She smiled brightly. "The _world._" When he groaned and rolled his eyes, she giggled lightly before returning her gaze to the landscapes surrounding them. Eyes glazing over in memory as her smile grew wistful, she whispered, "Up in the sky, the entire _world_ stretched beneath the clouds like a map. It was breathtaking. Being back on the ground, I can't help but love the planet I fought to save."

* * *

**Theme**: Love

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	19. Pink

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"I hardly find this funny, Kitsune." The umbreon continued to laugh uncontrollably, causing the absol with hideously pink fur to sigh in exasperation. "Please stop laughing."

"I'm sorry, but–" Another bout of laughter made her eyes prick painfully with tears, and she choked, "You look so _silly!_ I mean, _pink?_"

Blade huffed irritably, muttering, "Glad to see _you're_ enjoying this. How about I dye _your_ fur pink?" When she finally calmed down to give him a scowl, he went on, "And it's not like I dyed it myself. I woke _up_ like this."

Kitty's mouth twitched, and she told him, "Seems you've angered the wrong ghost, Pinky. Better hope it washes out!" As he gave her a sour glare at her teasing, she laughed and gave him a playful shove. "Maybe I should threaten you with fur dye whenever you piss me off."

He glared. "Don't you _dare, _Kitsune."

* * *

**Theme**: Tears

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	20. Why

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"Blade, what caused you to help us, when Sakura and I were fugitives? I've been meaning to ask, but I kept forgetting."

The absol blinked at the unexpected question, then thought over his answer carefully as they trekked through the dungeon. "At the time, I remember my disgust towards the pokemon chasing after you, falsely accusing you of something you hadn't done. I wanted to set things right." Frowning slightly at the memory, he added, "I've had experience with that myself, with my ability to foresee disasters."

Kitty nodded in understanding, and then cocked her head to the side as she asked curiously, "So, what made you stay with us?"

"I was inspired."

"Inspired?" When he grunted affirmation, she pursed her lips and tried to work out what could've possibly motivated Blade into becoming a full-time rescuer. When she failed in doing that, she gave a mental huff before glancing at him again to examine his anticipation. _He knows I'm going to ask._ "What inspired you?"

Maroon eyes slid over to her, and a faint tug on the corners of his mouth revealed his veiled amusement. "My inspiration . . . was _you._"

* * *

**Theme**: My Inspiration

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	21. One Hundred Percent

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"Never again."

"What?"

"I'm never letting you choose the missions ever again."

"There's a seventy-five point three percent chance of meeting a scyther that knows fury cutter–"

"Stop complaining, Kitsune. It'll be over soon enough."

"But I was hoping to never see this guy again. I've had _enough_ of his numbers."

"–and a thirty-five point eight zero two two one percent chance of encountering a female scyther expecting two children–"

"Beggars can't be choosers, Kitsune."

"And idiots can't be _smart,_ _Blade._"

"–and exactly an eighty-one percent chance for a female scyther to attack us to defend its young–"

"Shut _up,_ you stupid blockhead! I've _had it_ with your statistics!"

"_Kitsune–_"

"If I hear _one more _percentage out of you, I'll shadow ball you in the face."

"Eep! Yes, ma'am!"

". . . That was hardly the way to deal with it."

"There's also an exact hundred percent chance that I'll kick your ass for accepting this mission in the first place. So shut it."

* * *

**Theme**: Never Again

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	22. Human

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

If Caterpie had had feet to shift nervously on, he would be doing a lot of shuffling. "Kitty?"

The umbreon glanced at Caterpie and Metapod looking eagerly at her, a tiny smile on her face at the sight of them trying to contain their curiosity. "Yeah?" Often times she'd be stopped by them for a short conversation, so she waited patiently for them to ask questions as they always did.

The caterpillar looked at his hard-shelled brother for reassurance, and when he somehow found it in the immobile cocoon he turned back and piped up, "What kinds of things did you have as a human?" It looked like a question that had been nagging him for a while, for he could barely contain his excitement as he bounced up and down impatiently. She could only assume his brother felt the same, seeing as how he couldn't move that much.

"Hm, well . . ." Pausing to think over what she could tell them, her smile grew as they waited anxiously for her answer. "Well," she finally began, "there's _lots_ of things over there. We have cars, computers, telephones, cell phones, electricity, flashlights, the internet, fan fiction, online dating–" She paused to take a breath, enjoying the excitement shining in their eyes. "CD players, clocks, television, movie theatres, DVDs, politics, guns, world wars, the space program–and tons, tons more where that came from."

"Wow . . ." Caterpie's eyes sparkled in awe at the long list of foreign devices she spoke of, before confusion settled on his face and he tentatively asked, "Um, what's a "space program?" "

"And a "car?" "

"Those words are all funny-sounding," the worm added.

Kitty smiled at their curiosity and relented, letting herself feel better as she explained to the children things she couldn't experience anymore. "Well, a car is like a giant metal shell with wheels, and . . ."

* * *

**Theme**: Online

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	23. Need Help

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"Oh, my aching head . . ." Blinking groggily at the harsh sunlight that prevented her from falling back asleep, Kitty stretched herself out as she yawned loudly, trying to stimulate her mind into ridding the sleepy fog that dulled her senses. Eventually succeeding in her endeavor, she rubbed away the blurs in her vision to make it easier to locate Sakura. They had gone on a mission together as soon as she returned, but a series of unexpected circumstances overwhelmed them and, evidently, knocked them unconscious. Realizing the danger they were in, she leapt to her feet and whirled around, desperately searching for her partner–and finding a totally different person instead. Her eyes widened in horror, and she whispered, "Oh . . . _God,_ no."

The purple ghost grinned at her reaction, asking, "Kekekeh, looking for someone else?" He motioned to her other side where the venusaur remained unconscious, and she ran over to her and headbutted her side to wake her up. After a few more jarring attacks, the green-skinned pokemon stirred with a grumble, and Gengar called to the both of them, "Hurry up, I don't have all day!"

"Hm, what?" Sakura yawned and rubbed an eye with a vine, mumbling, "What's Gengar doing in my house?"

Kitty winced, reluctant to explain the situation to her. "Um, Sakura . . . you're not in your house."

Almost immediately, her friend's eyes snapped open in alarm, and she glanced around to see Team Meanies standing smugly nearby before letting out a moan of despair. "You've got to be _kidding_ me! How could we . . . and why are they . . . _ugh!_" She then proceeded to smack her forehead into the dirt, as if to knock some sense into herself and make everything disappear around her like a bad dream. When it didn't work, she groaned and got to her feet, casting a glare at the fighting-type's haughty laughter.

"Mm, not so hot _now,_ are you?" Enjoying their misfortune, Medicham danced around them cheerfully, singing, "You need rescuing! You need rescuing!"

"Great," the venusaur grumbled to her friend, "now she's going to be singing a song about our failure to the rest of Pokemon Square."

Both of them grimaced at the thought, and they reluctantly followed the arrogant pokemon as Medicham continued to hum the embarrassing tune. Eventually, of course, Gengar took it upon himself to chat with his escorts as he slowed his pace to walk alongside Kitty, satisfied with her humiliation. "Imagine my surprise," he began, earning both of their glares in a heartbeat, "when I was given the chance to be Kitty's knight in shining armor!"

Ekans snorted at his words before asking Team Foxfire curiously, "What exactly happened? You two are normally capable of much worse conditions, and yet . . ."

"We were surrounded, and one of them knew agility." Sakura scowled at the memory, probably cursing the pokemon to Magma Cavern and back even as she explained, "There's was no way we'd be able to keep up with them, let alone defend ourselves against their attacks."

"And of course," Kitty added bitterly, "some knew fire-type moves while others knew fighting moves. Just our luck."

Gengar grinned at their sour attitudes and attempted to "cheer them up" a bit. "Kekeh, just look on the bright side!" He pointed a thumb at himself, looking rather proud of himself. "You _both_ had the pleasure of being saved by _me._" They obviously weren't very reassured by that.

"Us," Ekans corrected.

Gengar rolled his eyes. "Us. Whatever."

* * *

**Theme**: Failure

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	24. Craving

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

As Kitty tried to push away her exhaustion one morning, she decided there was something she hadn't had in a long time and needed badly: Tea. She figured coffee was out of the question, and so she inquired in town on where to get some tea bags or something similar only to receive blank stares. Frustrated that she couldn't get a simple drink, she decided to try asking Sakura since she was, after all, a venusaur. She had to know something about tea and leaves and such, right?

"Uh, why would you put leaves into water?"

The umbreon sighed heavily, defeat slumping her shoulders. "Never mind . . ." Walking dejectedly back to town, she didn't even stir when Gengar started to bother her again, something that seemed to completely baffle him. When he finally stopped to ask what her problem was, she heaved another sigh and muttered sourly, "No one knows how to make a simple cup of tea. I'm sick and tired of just water!" Going from depressed to frustrated in a millisecond, she fumed silently for a moment before the clearing of a throat brought her attention back to the ghost. She furrowed her eyebrows and snapped, "What?" She wasn't in the mood for his flirting–not that she ever was.

Raising an eyebrow at her hostility, Gengar calmly replied, "Craving tea, huh?" When she perked up hopefully at his familiarity with the subject, he grinned and motioned for her to follow him, looking pleased when she did so without hesitation. The want for tea overrode any doubts or inhibitions she had around him, and she bounced eagerly on her feet when he stopped to grab some berries from storage. She ignored the strange look she received from Kangaskhan as she trailed after the ghost, unable to contain her enthusiasm at the thought of finally getting a hold of some tea. _Gengar, you've just become my new best friend. Oh, man . . . tea! Finally!_

Growing impatient as he pulled a cup from his pack and dropped a few berry leaves into it, she prodded his side with her tail as her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "Come on, come on, come _on!_ What's _taking_ you so long?"

"Hold your horses! Sheesh!" Earning her silence for now, he filled the cup with water from the stream to the west of town before once more taking to the path in search of something else. When he caught sight of Team A.C.T., his smirk reappeared and he strolled confidently up to them, ignoring their hostility when they noticed his approach and motioning towards Charizard. "Kekeh, I'll have to borrow your tail," he demanded boldly, pointing to the umbreon beside him nearly bursting with impatience. "It's an emergency, I'm afraid."

"Err . . . okay?" Perplexed by the strange request and unexpected duo before him, he shifted his tail over to them and watched inquisitively as Gengar carefully brought the cup to the flame to heat the water inside. When it began to steam and a rich brown color seeped from the leaves into the water, he then placed it before Kitty and crossed his arms victoriously at her unbridled joy. Taking a whiff of the cup and relishing the sweet, earthy aroma, she felt something revive inside of her that she hadn't realized was missing. _Oh my God, if I had arms, I'd hug him right now. And Charizard. Hell, I'd hug everybody here!_ Her merry rebirth was cut short, however, when she approached a dilemma, one that was voiced by a curious and ignorant Tyranitar.

"Uh, how're you gonna drink it?"

Gengar rolled his eyes at her moan of despair. "Drama queen. I'll go get a bowl or something."

* * *

**Theme**: Rebirth

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	25. Nostalgia

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"Thank you, miss," the ariados sighed, giving her the best bow he could as a spider, "for finding Heracross . . . again."

Kitty giggled at the quiet frustration that was barely hinted in his voice, understanding that he probably worried for his daughter more and more as she got herself lost more frequently. She was sure it was inevitable that he would care so much for her, being her father, and she couldn't help the admiration she felt for his devotion to his family, even with the knowledge that most fathers would do the same. It was refreshing to see a spider do it, she supposed, after being a human with a mother who absolutely hated spiders; it was like a "in your face" moment that she would mentally hold towards her mother, and a nostalgic smile touched her lips at the idea of her mother's reaction. _She wouldn't appreciate it, I'm sure._ Dragging herself from her thoughts to focus on Sherlock, she tried to wave away his thanks as she always did with her clients, saying lightly, "It's my job, and I'm always happy to reunite a family." _Especially since I know the feeling,_ she added silently.

His pincers clacked together in earnest as he pressed on, "I can't find words to express my gratitude, really. I am forever in your debt." As she protested this, he glanced at the blue-shelled child basking in the sunlight and enjoying the sweet aroma of flowers, and his expression softened as he watched his daughter enjoy herself while the adults talked. "I don't know what I would do without her."

Feeling a bit uncomfortable with this touching display, she swallowed hard to dislodge the lump in her throat as she carefully told him, "Well, I'm always glad to help. Take care, Ariados." Turning to the child as she came running with flowers in her claws, she smiled and used a paw to affectionately nudge her arm. "Try not to get into anymore trouble, okay?"

Wide eyes considered her curiously before surrendering a quick nod, and she looked to her father to see amusement twinkling in his eyes. "You're leaving?" She looked oddly sad at the prospect, and she hurriedly handed her a daisy as if to give her a gift to remember her by, carefully placing it on the umbreon's head and petting her ears in admiration. Backing away from the dark-type, Heracross glumly waved in front of the billboard where rescuers received payment for their jobs–but the umbreon had refused to take their imbursement this time, feeling their company was all she needed. "Bye, Kitty-Kitty!"

Breaking away from the father-daughter duo to start on her way back home, Kitty couldn't help the sadness that tugged at the corners of her mouth and eyes, threatening to reveal her distress to the villagers she passed in the fading light of the sunset. _He keeps reminding me of my own father. The resemblance, other than the obvious physical differences, is almost painful._ Trying to think of happier things to distract herself from her nostalgia, she only succeeded in pulling her attention from reality and ended up bumping into a tall, thin figure that squawked in surprise before whirling around to scold her. "Sorry," she told Medicham, her voice quieted with the memories of her family, and she carefully passed her to continue down the dirt path out of town. The fighter wasn't having any of that, however, as she forcibly whirled the fox around to give her a stern glare.

"Watch where you're going! You could've knocked me over or made me drop something!" She was obviously furious at the hero's carelessness, but it was quickly overwhelmed by curiosity when she received no verbal response. Kitty just ducked her head in silent apology, and Medicham crossed her arms with a small huff as her efforts to rile her up were wasted. "What's _your_ problem?"

Flashing a bittersweet smile up at the fighter, Kitty gave a half-shrug and tried to lose her assailant's attention by answering casually, "Nothing, really. Just feeling homesick, that's all." Satisfied when there wasn't a spark of interest in Medicham's expression, she turned and waved her tail halfheartedly in farewell, mumbling, "See ya." Before she could take more than two steps, however, her way was blocked by a familiar purple wall, and she stopped in an instant as she heard Ekans' rattle coming up behind her. Glancing around to see all of Team Meanies assembled in a triangle, with her in the middle, her shoulders sagged as she figured she wouldn't be escaping easily this time. _Joy._

Gengar was the first to speak up, although his confident smirk was strangely absent this time. "Keh, what's got _you_ moping about? You look like your pet just died." She snorted quietly at the assumption, although it was an accurate description of her demeanor, and he ventured curiously, "Did you finally realize I wouldn't stop bothering you?"

Half-amused half-annoyed at his suggestion, she muttered, "Actually, I figured _that_ out a long time ago. I'm just a little nostalgic today, that's all." Then, the absurdity of the situation came to her with a click, and she furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at him warily. "Why do _you_ care, anyways?"

A smidgeon of his normal confidence returned to him, and he grinned smugly as he taunted, "Kekeh, I wanted to make sure you weren't still sulking over the fact that I _saved_ you not too long ago." Fully expecting the snub to get an angry huff out of her, his grin swiftly dropped when she only gave a resigned sigh at his insult. "Uh, are you _sure_ your pet didn't die?"

"I haven't had a pet in _years,_" she mumbled mostly to herself, and then straightened up to try to shake off the depression she felt coming on. _The _last_ thing I need is to start crying in front of them._ "And it's nothing, really. Don't need to suddenly start _caring_ or anything." Summoning what remained of her frustration towards the ghost and letting it leak into her body language, she started back down the road and roughly pushed past him much like Blade had done before to go in the opposite direction, holding her head high to prevent further questions. When she heard footsteps trailing after her, she gave Gengar a sharp glare in warning, but his next words caused her to pause in her retreat.

"Want some hot tea?"

She frowned at the offer, searching his expression for a hint of an elaborate plan to torture her through the evening, but nothing in his face hinted towards an ulterior motive as his teammates watched silently. Mulling over the idea and inwardly groaning when the thought of a warm drink caused her to shiver in anticipation, she turned to fully face him with a reluctant scowl. _Only tea could win me over so easily._

"_One cup._"

* * *

**Theme**: Breaking Away

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	26. Awkward

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

**Author's Note**: Fixed an annoying typo. *grammarnazi*

* * *

Thankfully, he hadn't decided to bring her back to his house, but being in the company of Team Meanies was enough to unnerve her; she couldn't stop the feeling of anxiety from growing in her gut, and she jumped ever so slightly whenever Medicham cast a suspicious glance over her shoulder. The fighter didn't seem to appreciate Kitty's presence, but it seemed discipline (and the idea that what her leader said was the final word on the matter) had been drilled into her for months, for she didn't open her mouth to protest when he motioned for the umbreon to follow. As her dread began to build to an insurmountable point, Gengar deemed her silence unacceptable and slowed his pace until he was alongside her, glancing over to examine how she stared into the distance seriously before lightly poking her shoulder to get her attention. Looking amused at the squeak she issued forth when she jumped in surprise, he seemed to finally submit to his curiosity and ask her something that was nagging the entire team: "So, what's got _you_ down in the dumps?"

Kitty let out a soft sigh, thankful that the suspense had dissipated now that he spoke up but reluctant to tell him the source of her angst. "I just miss home, that's all . . . you know what that's like, right? When you're on a long mission and haven't been home for days? That sort of thing."

". . . But, if that's all that it was, you wouldn't be this sad." He eyed her knowingly. "You mean your family and friends . . . in the human world." Her silence was confirmation of his statement, and he crossed his arms as his gaze focused on the path before them, seeming to think over her situation carefully. She didn't know what would interest him so much in her worries, but she figured it had to do with the reason he had suddenly decided to start flirting with her–which wasn't reassuring, but at least she had a lead to go on. Maybe he just wanted to get in good with the hero of the world so the others would stop bothering him–or maybe this was all for fun, who knew? Her speculating was interrupted when the ghost gave a soft huff and started, "Well, it _was_ your choice to stay here, wasn't it?" He raised an eyebrow when she nodded dejectedly. "Do you _regret_ that?"

Her response was immediate. "No!" _If I had to make the same decision over and over again, for forever and a day, I would pick Sakura in a heartbeat!_ Both of his teammates glanced back at her panicked outburst, and then she bit her lip and stared down at her paws as doubt began to seep into the cracks of her resolve. "Well, sometimes . . . I don't _regret_ my decision, but I wish it didn't have to come with such a big sacrifice." Her eyes glazed over as memories came flooding back to her, back when she still walked on two legs and had blonde hair instead of brown or black fur. "I never really had a chance to say good-bye to them, either. I wonder if they're stilled worried about me . . . or maybe they had their memories altered, too."

Gengar opened his mouth to say something, but, much to her surprise, he hesitated, as if the words might not have been appropriate–as if he _cared._ Kitty realized there were many things she still didn't know about the ghost, and as curiosity began to set in she decided that perhaps Sakura's suggestion to get to know him held some merit. She was tired of being left in the dark when it concerned her future, and as Sherlock had mentioned before, it seemed he was hiding something from her and everyone else. As she pondered this strange development, Gengar seemed to figure out what he wanted to say and cleared his throat to make sure he had her attention. "You said before that you couldn't remember anything before you were a pokemon. What happened that . . . ?"

"Remember when I disappeared?" When he mentioned he had heard about it, she continued, "Somewhere between leaving and coming back, all of my memories came rushing back to me–I _was_ returning home, after all, so it would only make sense." She glanced away and shrugged, mumbling, "I just kept those memories when I came back, I guess."

He nodded thoughtfully, seeming to mull over the explanation she provided with interest. _I wonder what he's thinking about._ Not the first time she had wondered that, of course. "So," he ventured, "you remember everything now?"

"Everything. All of my old friends, my tenth birthday party–" and then she glanced at him, expression unreadable, "and my dog." He didn't get it at first, but then it hit him like a brick, and he chuckled in amusement at her subtle joke as she turned her head away to hide her own smile. She didn't want him to get the wrong impression and think she was comfortable around him or anything. Ekans gave them both a curious glance this time, forked tongue slipping in and out of his mouth as if to taste their thoughts, and then he had a silent exchange with his other teammate before returning his attention to the river now in front of them. Gengar retrieved the bowl from his bag (she was slightly surprised he carried it with him) along with more leaves, and he went through the motions of filling it up before turning to go back into town, looking for someone in particular. Kitty quickly returned to his side, something she noticed too late to prevent and he noticed automatically with satisfaction, to inform him, "Charizard's not around today; he and his team went off on some special mission or something."

"Kekeh, I'm not looking for him," he replied smugly, and at her confused expression he gestured for her to wait as he approached the storage hut where the motherly normal-type waited for her customers to arrive. She glanced at him with mild surprise before a knowing twinkle appeared in her eyes, and she seemed ready for the question Gengar presented her as he handed the bowl over to her. "Could you warm this up?"

"Why, certainly, dear," she hummed cheerfully, giving the confused fox a playful wink before turning to the bowl and opening her mouth. Much to everyone's surprise (except the ghost), flames shot from between her sharp fangs, and they watched in amazement as she executed a perfect flamethrower to warm the bowl until steam began to rise from the it. She stopped and gave them all a merry smile, waving away their bewilderment with a quick explanation. "TMs are quite wonderful, aren't they? I can do iced tea, too!"

Baffled by the strange development, Kitty glanced at the arrogant grin on Gengar's face, wondering how exactly he had figured this interesting fact out. _Did he go around asking who could use fire-type moves or something?_ Deciding to ask him about it later, she accepted the bowl gratefully and took a deep breath of the earthy tea as was customary of her. _Ahh, I really do have to thank him for doing this for me. I should make my own, but I keep forgetting to do so through all of my stress . . ._ She lapped up the tea eagerly, used to the uncivilized way she had to drink after being a pokemon for months as she ignored the curious gazes of the others. Nearly inhaling it all, she didn't expect to finish it so fast and stared glumly at the empty bowl, now wishing she had took her time drinking it. To her surprise, Gengar picked up the bowl and started off towards the river to fill it up once more, and she realized with a start that he was going out of his way to help her now. _Once was normal, but twice? What's made him so helpful all of a sudden? Dammit, now I feel guilty and responsible . . . is that the plan?_

"Oh," Kangaskhan spoke up, causing the fox to jump in surprise, "don't worry about it, dearie. If he wants to help, that's his choice." She reached across the counter to pat her on the head affectionately, much to the umbreon's dismay, and gave her a mischievous wink. "It's kind of cute that he cares enough about you, as a friend, considering his . . . troubled past." Kitty didn't fail to notice how she had added the friend part as an afterthought, and she gave the normal-type an irritated glare only to get an amused laugh in return. Scoffing and turning away from the owner of the storage hut, she watched the path to find a glimpse of the ghost that had confused her at every turn, preventing her from fully understanding what his intentions were. _If he wasn't so damn confusing, maybe I'd be able to figure out what he wants from me. First he bothers me relentlessly, acting like the next Casanova, and now he's being considerate. I don't get it._ Shaking her head and giving a heavy sigh, she remained where she sat for several minutes before she furrowed her eyebrows in frustration, wondering where he had gone off to. _Did he get lost?_

"_Boo!_"

"_Ack!_" Kitty jumped three feet in the air at the scare, wide eyes snapping around to catch sight of the purple ghost that had crept around the hut to sneak up behind her, holding his stomach as he laughed almost violently at her reaction. Her face heating up in embarrassment, she scowled at the childish antics she had hoped he had grown out of, now realizing how stupid such an expectation was. _This _is_ Gengar we're talking about, that little brat!_ She glared at him as he laughed, nearly feeling betrayed by his sudden start. "You jerk! That's not funny!" When he ignored her anger in favor of his own entertainment, she huffed and whipped around to ask Kangaskhan for her own berries, viciously ripping the leaves off of them to add to the bowl of water before gesturing stiffly for Gengar to lift it onto the counter. He grinned at her huffy manner and did as she motioned, returning the bowl to the ground when the task was finished and watching in amusement as she turned her back to him to drink her tea, tail raised high in defiance.

_Arrogant jerk,_ she mentally muttered, slurping her tea rather loudly to drown out the sounds of his snickering. _I should shadow ball him in the face, tea or no tea. If I didn't love tea so much, I'd throttle him! Grr, damn that conceited, stupid, arrogant asshole!_ Cursing excessively in her mind seemed to help her simmer down to a quiet fuming, but her anger did not evaporate completely as she felt his eyes on her back. Now that she thought about it, she felt uncomfortable turning her tail to him, since that certainly gave him a great view of her rear without her being able to stop him–or was she looking too far into things? _I don't think pokemon focus on things like that . . . do they? They're human-like, and yet they're vastly different._ Struck by indecision, she was saved by the empty bowl in front of her and quickly turned around to glare at the ghost she was sure was staring at her just a little too closely. Overwhelmed with paranoia, she kicked the bowl over to him and sat down on her tail to prevent anyone from staring at it–and the mischievous grin on his face hinted that he knew the reason for her discomfort, which didn't reassure her a bit. Clearing her throat to dislodge the anxious lump now residing there, she mumbled halfheartedly, "Thanks for the tea, Kangaskhan, Gengar."

"You're welcome, dearie!"

The glint in Gengar's eyes did nothing to ease her anxiety, and his reply was deliberately uncomfortable to listen to. "Kekeh, you're welcome, cutie. If you need anything _else,_ don't be shy!" Then he turned to the normal-type shaking her head in silent laughter and asked to store a few things, which gave Kitty the tentative opportunity to sneak past him and run down the dirt path to her house. She scurried past his teammates without another word, hoping he wouldn't realize her absence until she was already out of sight, but halfway down the road she grimaced when she heard a wolf whistle far behind her and tried to keep her composure.

_Don't turn around and kill him, don't turn around and kill him . . ._

Back in the square, Ekans watched the umbreon walk swiftly away from them before turning to his leader with a curious glance. "Forgive me for my ignorance on the matter," he started carefully as he eyed the ghost's almost predatory smirk, "but what does that whistle symbolize? Snakes can't whistle, so . . ."

Medicham snickered at the startled look on Gengar's face as if he had forgotten he wasn't alone for a moment, but he quickly regained his own composure and managed a very Meanies-esque chuckle. "I'll tell you some other time. For now," his grin returned full-force, "let's just say it'll make Kitty feel really, _really_ awkward walking away from me from now on."

* * *

**Theme**: Forever and a Day

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	27. Oops

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Kitty stared at the grass-type, expression unreadable. "You did what?"

Sakura shuffled uneasily under her gaze. "I . . . might have lost something important."

"_Might?_"

"Okay, I did!"

"What, dare I ask, did you lose?"

". . . my badge."

"_What?_ Sakura!" The umbreon sighed, shaking her head in disbelief. "I'd expect _me_ to do that, not _you!_"

"Well, sorry! I can't be perfect _all_ of the time!"

"That's alright," she told her, "that's fine. We've just gotta find it. Do we have a Lost and Found in town?"

A blank stare was her answer.

". . . Shit."

* * *

**Theme**: Lost and Found

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	28. Special Delivery

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Once again, she was subjected to Gengar's tortures as she wandered around town looking for Sakura, badge in hand. She had found it while closely examining the dirt path around the base, but now she had lost her partner. _Where'd she go? She said she was going to look over here, but I don't see her . . ._ Frowning as her worry began to grow, she wasn't prepared for the claws that wrapped around her middle and lifted her from the path, and she gave a startled shriek as she began to kick wildly at her aggressor. "_Gah!_ Put me _down,_ put me _down,_ put me _down, now!_"

"Geh, calm _down,_ Kitty," was Gengar's half-amused half-annoyed reply, but instead of yielding to her request he threw her roughly over his shoulder and started to walk in another direction as his victim screamed in indignation. Ignoring her protests with a mischievous grin, he commented to irritate and silence her, "Stop wagging your butt around, it's quite noticeable without you doing that." She smacked him in the face with her tail in response, and she huffed exasperatedly when he only snickered at her discomfort before asking where he was taking her.

"I don't appreciate the position I'm in, _Gengar._"

"Kekeh, hold your horses, Ms. Wag-My-Tail," he said playfully, pushing her threatening tail away when she went to smack him again with it. "You'll see when we get there, which'll be soon. You're pretty light, to be honest." Without giving her further explanation for her sudden abduction, he walked throughout town with the umbreon on his shoulder as the villagers looked on with a mix of bewilderment and amusement, not even offering a helping hand as they went on with their business. He reached the billboard in front of the pelipper-shaped building and finally set a very disgruntled Kitty down next to a very confused Sakura. "Special deliver, ma'am," he bowed teasingly, enjoying the furious stance his abductee gave him before taking his leave with a cheery whistle.

Sakura blinked, took one look at the retreating ghost and the livid fox before her, and then asked the last question Kitty wanted to hear that moment: "What just happened?"

* * *

**Theme**: Light

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	29. Retreat

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Medicham squinted to try to make the objects around her clearer, cursing the nocturnal pokemon that could see at night. _If only Gengar was here . . ._ Then again, she was tailing him, so it would defeat the purpose to reveal herself; she would just have to deal with stumbling along after the ghost for as long as it took to figure out where he went those nights he disappeared from the base. She hadn't been suspicious before the Sky Tower incident when he had suddenly disappeared, but now things were so strange around here that she couldn't let this opportunity pass her by. What started at first as, she thought, a simple way to bother the fox more than usual suddenly spiraled out of control, and she didn't like being left in the dark–figuratively and literally. If her serpentine companion knew anything, his lips were sealed on the matter, so she decided to take things into her own hands and do a little investigating herself. _Now, if only he didn't go through so many branches . . . then again, he _is_ a ghost . . ._

She was careful when peeling the branches back so they didn't whip into place and cause a ruckus, but it certainly slowed her down. Toying with the idea that he knew he was being followed, she quickly dismissed it as paranoia and continued her quiet pursuit of her leader right to the outskirts of the trees. Where the tree line stopped abruptly, she did too, and she peered out from behind the shelter of a wide trunk to watch with coal-like eyes narrowed in suspicion. _What's he doing at that brat's base? I don't see a light on . . ._ Afraid of getting caught, she remained where she was and examined the windows for movement, but there was no sign of life inside the eevee-shaped hut. Confused, it was only when she noticed shadows moving across the ground that she realized someone was on the roof.

Glancing up to examine the faint sliver of the moon that barely illuminated the land, Medicham squinted her eyes to try to discern the figures on the rooftop. The spike-adorned blob was easy to recognize, but it took a bit longer for her to make out the shape of the black fox sitting beside him calmly–but it shouldn't have surprised her, considering this _was_ Kitty's base. Who else would be sitting on the roof? She had heard of the fox's affinity with climbing, and so she wondered what caused the umbreon to share her personal space with Gengar. _She's not exactly friendly towards him after that whistle incident . . ._ Desperately wanting to know what they were doing up there, she took one step towards them before the snapping of a dry twig caused her to freeze in place–a twig beneath her foot. _Just my luck._

When it didn't seem like they had noticed the sound, the fighter glanced down to examine the broken twig and found something else of interest in the moist dirt: A collection of four footprints dug deep into the ground in a cluster, as if the creature was in the middle of a run and preparing to jump. Claw marks on a tree nearby hinted to the trespasser going into hiding among the branches, but nothing above her hinted to her solitude being broken. Leaning down to look at it more closely, she traced three claws in the front of the paw and what looked to be another two on the back, although it didn't seem to sit right when she imagined the foot in her mind. Using her limited knowledge on the footprints of pokemon she knew, she could only come to the conclusion that she wasn't the only one interested in Gengar's connection to Kitty–or, perhaps more appropriately, Kitty's connection to Gengar. Snapping her gaze back to the pair on the roof, she glared at the figure beside her leader's and silently cursed her own lack of knowledge on the situation.

_I'll figure this out, whether Gengar wants me to know or not–with or without Ekans' help._

Knowing she couldn't do much else at the moment, she reluctantly retreated to go back home and relay the information to the snake in hopes he would loosen his scaly lips and assist her.

* * *

**Theme**: Dark

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	30. Tea Fix

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"No way!"

Gengar grinned at her incredulous expression as they sat on the roof, as if enjoying her doubt. "Kekeh, I'm dead serious. That's how I found out she could use flamethrower." He had just finished recounting the tale to her, ignorant of his teammate's snooping, and even when he said it aloud, it sounded strange. He had just walked up to the storage hut, intent on getting more berries for the next time he required them, when she had inquired about him coming so late in the day. While Kitty knew the basics of the exchange, however, there were some things he didn't tell her about the conversation he had had with Kangaskhan.

"_Are you going on a mission this late, dearie?"_

"_Kekeh, _no._" He waved away her questions with a flippant claw, explaining, "I'm just getting ready the next time Kitty has a tea fix."_

"_Oh," and a knowing smile came onto the motherly pokemon's face, "I heard about that. How'd you learn how to do that, anyways?"_

"_Some teams came passing through," he quickly answered, still confident as ever as she retrieved the berries he asked for._

"_Is that so?" At his nod of confirmation, she hummed in interest and paused in giving him a handful of mago berries as she thought over something. "So, you knew exactly what kind of tea she'd like? Didn't think you two were such good friends."_

_He shook his head at her statement, wanting to make it clear that he still wasn't exactly friends with Kitty. "No, but I figured I knew where to start. Eventually, I can narrow it down to what she likes and doesn't like."_

"_Mhm." Kangaskhan raised an eyebrow curiously, and she ventured, "So, dearie, does that mean you _care_ about her? Even just a little bit?" By the way he stiffened suddenly, she figured he didn't appreciate the questioning now that it hit an uncomfortable subject, and she waved away her own curiosity with a dismissive claw. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. I can't help but wonder what's come over you, though, dear. You've been so different ever since Team Foxfire came back from the clouds and Kitty decided not to leave us."_

"_Leave her _partner,_" he corrected with a mumble, and then he turned a suspicious glare towards the normal-type's kind smile, searching for a hint of some evil plot behind her maternal façade. "Geh. What makes you think," he finally asked, "that I care about her, anyways?"_

_Her smile held the knowledge she had collected over many years in the world, and he suddenly wasn't so sure of how safe his secrets were anymore. "Oh, it's nothing, really. I guess you could say . . . it's faith." At his confused frown, her smile grew a bit warmer and amused, as if he was a simple child–and compared to her, he probably was. "Yes, Gengar, despite everything you've done, I still have faith in you. I'm an excellent judge of character, and, like the day I noticed Kitty wasn't just your average pokemon, I can see that you're not all you seem to be. But don't worry," she winked playfully to dispel the tension that had fallen between them, "I won't tell anyone. I'll wait for you to tell others of your own accord. Now, pecha or sitrus?"_

"_U-ugeh, pecha."_

"_Oh, sweet, huh?" After a moment of thought, she told him, "You know, I think sweet would taste better hot than cold. But I could help you with either–TMs don't just help rescuers, after all."_

* * *

**Theme**: Faith

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	31. Murky Waters

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"Oh, come on, Sakura, have more imagination than that!"

They were walking to a mission in some dungeon called Wyvern Hill and trying to stave off the boredom from the obligatory journey with some light chatter, which was why Kitty was harping on her partner for her lack of imagination; their current conversation had to do with what colors they reminded each other of, and she had predictably said brown. "I know that I was an eevee once," the fox said with a roll of her eyes, "but that's not what I meant."

"Well, sorry," the grass-type huffed, "but the first image that comes to mind is when we first met. I can't help it!" When her friend still didn't seem satisfied, she tried to think of a different color to describe her and came up short, unable to bring herself away from the earth-related color even when she tried. "I'm sorry, Kitty, but I can only think of brown. It just seems to fit you, you know?"

The umbreon frowned and slowly said, "No, I don't know. Mind explaining?"

"Hm. Well," Sakura began carefully, "whenever I think of you, I think of your warm and thoughtful nature, and how you never want to give up–which reminds me of the thick trees you find deep in the forest." Her eyes became glassy as she conjured the sight in her mind, and she went on quietly, "Whenever I'm near them, I feel the strength of their mighty trunk and roots, and how sturdy and determined they are as they brave the stormy weather . . . and I feel safe under them. And the bark," she added with a playful wink as she came back to reality, "is _definitely_ brown."

"Huh," was Kitty's only reply, and she suddenly felt stupid for assuming her friend was simply being lazy in her choice. _I'm going to give her the same courtesy as she gave me._ Giving her own answer much thought, she stopped her friend's curious question with a flick of her tail, taking the simpler colors into consideration before making her decision with a determined nod. "Sakura, you remind me most of a light blue."

"Light blue? Like the sky?"

"Yep." She paused before going on with her explanation, as if to make sure her words were just right. "You know, you're always calm, collected, even in some of the scariest moments of my life; when we were going to face Rayquaza, you didn't back down, but instead stepped forward to help me convince him to help us. You also make people look at the bright side of things," she jerked her head up towards the sun in example, "and no matter what, you're always there for me."

"Aww," the venusaur smiled, eyes a little misty after the speech, "that's so sweet! Thank you, Kitty!" Using two vines to lift and squeeze her affectionately, she reluctantly put her down when she struggled in her grip only to grin at her glower. "You're good at this, you know. Want to do some others?"

Kitty nodded, glad for some more deep thinking with her best friend. _She always brings the best out of me–I forgot to add that._ Making a mental note to say so later, the umbreon glanced around for a clue as to which person they should start with first. The shadows beneath a tree brought a certain pokemon to mind, and she suggested cheerfully, "How about Blade?"

"Black." At the expected groan from her friend, Sakura went on to explain, "Actually, he's one of the ones I've already thought about for colors. He's not exactly the friendliest of pokemon, but he's _also_ always there–like your shadow." Pointing a vine at her own in example, she continued wisely, "Even though he avoids scrutiny with skillful precision, like the shadow stretches away from the sun, you know that he'll always be behind you no matter what."

"How poetic," Kitty commented with a smile, nodding in agreement even as her friend rolled her eyes at the slight teasing. She then pursed her lips and admitted, "I have to agree with you, black seems to fit him to a "t." He's so mysterious and reserved that you never really know what to think of him, and whatever he _does_ leave you only makes you confused. Like . . . like the way the darkness plays tricks on your eyes."

Sakura nodded in approval. "Nice. Alright, who else?"

After a while of thinking over the matter, she offered, "Kangaskhan?" Then, after more thought, she shook her head and mumbled, "Nah, I only come up with brown–and you already described that color perfectly." At Sakura's soft snort ("Conceited."), she smacked her with her tail before pushing for the venusaur to come up with something. "Come on, anyone else, that _isn't_ kind and thoughtful and stuff?" It was a delayed reaction, but the mischievous grin that crept onto Sakura's face was less than reassuring. As she grew uncomfortable with waiting for her friend's answer, she watched her friend's knowing expression for a hint as to who it was. _What's got _her_ grinning like Gengar? . . . Oh._ She rolled her eyes at Sakura's now childish behavior. "Let me guess."

"Gengar!"

". . . yeah, that." Rolling her eyes again, she grumbled, "Can I say brown for being full of–"

"_Kitty!_" The venusaur laughed hysterically, barely able to nudge her with her vines in an attempt to make her serious. "Come on, at least try! It can't be that hard. Just think–and if you dare to say purple, you better have a reason for it!"

When her snickers towards the comment subsided, Kitty tried to think seriously about it . . . and realized something. _I was going to say brown for how bratty he acted before, but _now_ . . . now he's really changed._ She thought back to the times he had shown concern for her, even if only slightly, and she was forced by her sweet tooth to recognize how much trouble he went to for her tea cravings. _He's not too much of a jerk anymore, now that I think about it. Other than the ridiculous flirting, although that might have toned down a bit lately, unless he's trying to catch me off-guard later . . . ugh, too many variables._ Pushing those aside for now, she tried to examine his current behavior and realized that he had only acted like a mischievous and teasing friend. Shocked beyond belief, she turned to Sakura and told her that upfront, sharing surprised glances between each other before the venusaur asked for clarification on the matter.

"What do you mean, exactly?"

Kitty sighed, not wanting to dive into it all at the moment yet finding that she had to after bringing it up. "Well, yeah, he still flirts to probably bother me, but . . . he's been a _lot_ more helpful recently." A flash of recognition brightened Sakura's eyes, and she put forward the tea she had heard about in town. "Right, exactly; when he got me my tea, he didn't ask for a favor like a kiss or a date–he just helped me and quietly stood back as I appreciated his efforts without really thanking him, and he didn't force me to thank him, either!" _It's really weird, now that I think about it. What's going on? Is he . . ._

Unknowingly, Sakura spoke aloud the idea that the umbreon was too frightened to suggest. "Do you think he's losing his mean streak? That he's . . ." Unable to think of a better word, she managed to cough up a quiet, "Changed?" Both were unsettled by the thought and weren't afraid to let their uneasiness show in their expressions when they only had each other for company. They mulled over the implications of such a monumental change as they left more and more of the path behind them, getting further away from the town and the pokemon on both of their minds. "Would it be such a bad thing," the venusaur muttered, "if he _did_ change?"

"I don't know," Kitty replied uncertainly, "but I _do_ know that, if he's not the same as before . . . I can't expect anything of the usual from him anymore." And that scared her more than she was willing to admit; if he wasn't the same cocky Gengar that they knew, who annoyed them constantly and was only there to complicate their lives needlessly, then what _was_ he there for? If he was being friendlier, and if his flirting was _genuine . . ._

". . . So, what color?"

"What?" Kitty, unaware that her mind had wandered from reality, snapped her gaze back to her partner, inspecting the blank expression that revealed nothing of her thoughts. That normally hinted towards an important trick question, and she was careful to ask what exactly Sakura meant by that. " "What color," what? _Oh,_" she stopped the explanation with a shake of her head as the previous topic came flooding back to her, "I remember now. What color . . . eh, that's hard now, knowing that I don't really know much about him anymore."

The venusaur prodded her shoulder gently with a vine, coaxing her to try. "Just use what you know for _certain_ right now." Then she stepped back and let her friend think, eyes glued to her expression as if to anticipate her answer with subtle cues in her body language. Cataloguing every twitch, every narrowing or widening of the eyes and tucking them away for later to dissect and ponder over, she eagerly perked up when her friend took a deep breath only to slump when it was let out as a heavy sigh. "Got anything yet?"

"Brown."

"Ack–_Kitty!_ What did I say about–"

She shook her head, effectively cutting off her partner's argument. "No, I'm serious this time. I say brown, because . . ." She licked her lips, trying to pick the right words for what she wanted to get across. "Because he reminds me of the murky waters in a polluted pond. You can't see the bottom, but you know something's lurking down there, waiting for you to discover it. No matter how you try, though, you'll never be prepared for it, whether you step on it by accident or it comes up to the surface to sink its teeth into your foot."

". . . Well, that's creepy."

"Hey, this _is_ Gengar we're talking about. How about _you_ try, Miss Little-I'm-So-Perfect, if you think . . ."

* * *

**Theme**: Colors

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	32. Investigation

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

**Note**: I know that using berry leaves probably isn't the same thing as tea leaves, but you know what? It's fanfiction. Let's have a bit of an imagination, shall we?

* * *

Kitty took a deep breath as she stood before the seemingly deserted base in such disrepair that she almost doubted her nose for leading her there. But there it was: That oddly sweet and sour scent that always hinted to Medicham's presence in the past. It trailed from the square down this deserted road and up to the front door of the building, so the umbreon couldn't call that merely a coincidence. _What sane creature would walk around smelling like a mix between exeggcute and bellossom?_ Anxious yet determined, she padded up the steps and stood before the door barely attached to its hinges, preparing herself for a confrontation.

_Now it's time to do a little investigating of my own._

Taking a deep breath, she raised a paw and did her best imitation of a knock as loudly as she could, relieved when the door didn't fall down from the force. _I guess it's sturdier than it looks._ She waited as patiently as she could, bouncing slightly on her paws as she examined the peeling paint on the outside wall with a grimace. _Maybe they should try to get a hold of the mankey from Uproar Forest._ As she was mulling over what color they would choose to go over the old coat, she was startled into a squeak when the door jerked open to reveal a rather exasperated fighting-type glaring at her expectantly. _Oh crap, I wasn't expecting _her_ to open the door._ Growing nervous under the relentless gaze of a furious Medicham, she swallowed carefully before deciding clearing her throat was more effective and trying to reason with her horribly chosen welcome committee. "Uh, y'see, I was in the neighborhood, and–"

_Slam!_

Kitty blinked slowly, not exactly anticipating this response to her intrusion but feeling she shouldn't be surprised. ". . . Well, _that_ could've gone better, I'm sure." Sighing and rolling her eyes at the cream-skinned fighter's anger, she gave the door a bothered scowl before turning around to leave the property–only to find a wall of purple that was familiar by now stopping her in her tracks. She still couldn't prevent the shriek that tore through her throat and echoed against the decrepit base's walls, or the instinctive steps back she took only to bump into the closed door behind her and, finally, knock it off of its sorry hinges with a feeble groan of protest. She glanced over her shoulder at the fallen door and winced apologetically when she noticed Medicham's glare had increased in intensity, then turned to glower at the grinning ghost that had caused her to make a fool of herself . . . again.

"Why, hello to you, too, Kitty!" Waving a claw as if she hadn't just destroyed his front door, Gengar motioned for her to step inside like a generous host. "Kekeh, please, come in." He ignored the glare he received from his teammate at his invitation as he stepped around the umbreon to enter his house, eyeing the door for a moment before dismissing it entirely. Kitty followed him warily and got her first glimpse of the inside of the base; immediately, she mentally pointed out her possible escape routes, taking the three broken windows into account and wondering how well she could execute a back-flip in case the now wrecked front door was her only way out. Her mental exploration of the place was interrupted by the sound of metal scraping across the floor and glanced over to find a bucket sitting at Gengar's foot. Her silent inquiry was answered when he pointed up in demonstration, directing her attention to the hole in the roof of his base. _Oh, wow. They _definitely_ need to get a hold of the mankey._

"Ekans!" Her attention was then redirected to the fighting-type standing in the corner where the snake had taken residence, curled up in a nest made out of blankets and discarded items. He seemed to be sleeping, somehow not disturbed by the heavy _slam_ of the falling door, and so Medicham was attempting to wake him by kicking the side of his nest roughly and shouting, "Get up, you lazy snake! Don't make me fire punch you awake!"

After a moment of silence, Ekans finally slit his eyes open and raised his head heavily to give a sleepy yawn, and he murmured as he slithered out of bed, "No need to be so violent, Medicham . . ." Then, his flickering tongue caught scent of their guest, and he slowly turned his head to blink owlishly at the black fox standing in their base as if seeing her for the first time. "Oh. Hello, Kitty."

"Good morning?" She grinned sheepishly at the puzzled look on his face as she tried to come up with a logical explanation for her intrusion. _Ah! I've got just the thing._ Clearing her throat, she turned back to face the ghost, confident in her reasoning as she started, "Um, I didn't mean to bother any of you guys."

"Sure you didn't," Medicham "mumbled" to herself, and she tried to pretend she didn't notice the looks everyone gave her as she examined her fingers as if they had nails.

Giving her a sideways glance, Gengar waved away the umbreon's concern with a flippant claw. "Kekeh, don't worry about it. They needed to get up, anyways. Now," his curiosity was revealed with a grin, "what did you want that you went to all of the trouble to find my base?"

_Actually, it wasn't that hard. To quote an old advertisement, I just followed my nose._ Keeping that to herself, she shuffled her feet slightly before answering quietly, "I was going to ask if you could, uh, make me some tea." At the incredulous look on his teammates' faces, she scowled and grew defensive. "Hey, I can't make it myself! I have paws! And no bowls! Unless I suddenly grow opposable thumbs–"

"Oh, don't be such a drama queen," was his reply, shaking his head at her shrill tone as his smirk grew triumphant, looking rather pleased she had willingly come to him as he rummaged through his bag. _Don't think too much of it,_ she wanted to tell him, but she bit her lip respectfully since he was helping her after all. Knowing her parents would be proud of her restraint, she clung to the fact that he made heavenly tea as he plucked leaves from a pecha berry with a deft flick of his claws, but then curiosity got the best of her as she padded over and watched him size up the other berries in his bag. _He really must know what he's doing, because I'd just throw all kinds of leaves and probably make it taste horrible._ She was more than a little awed by the expertise he applied in making her tea, and her inquisitive expression didn't go unnoticed as Gengar chuckled at how impressed she looked. "What, you thought I just threw a bunch of leaves in and hoped it'd taste good? Kekekeh." He shook his head as if disappointed by such a thought, and she huffed at his arrogance as she sat on her haunches to watch him work more comfortably. _Jerk._

She jumped slightly when she realized Ekans had slunk across the room to join her, and he seemed to be just as fascinated by his leader's skills as she was. "You know," he suggested as the ghost looked for a specific berry, "you could make a business out of this; cooking tea and selling it to pokemon in town. It'd probably sell well, too, considering most pokemon just drink water around here and might want a little variation."

"First of all, it's "brew" tea, not "cook" tea," Gengar corrected him, "and second of all I'd have to share the profits with Kangaskhan, unless Medicham could perfect punching the bowl without breaking it. And I wouldn't have enough time to bother Kitty!" Grinning at her rolled eyes, he grabbed the bowl after throwing the leaves in and strode casually out of his base, telling Medicham on the way out, "Fix the door, will you?" Kitty scurried after him to avoid the fighter's frustration, and it seemed Ekans had the same idea as he quickly slithered after them without a word, looking eager to be out of the base. The ghost raised an eyebrow at his nervous shadows but said nothing of it, instead asking Kitty, "Did you happen to see Kangaskhan this morning?"

"Mm, no," she admitted, "but I think she gets up early, anyways." The memory of the first morning of her exile suddenly rushed back to her, and she couldn't stop herself from muttering, "Had to get up extra early to avoid the mob before . . ." She didn't know if either of them understood what she meant, but she didn't care to elaborate as she focused on the flowers that dotted the path which instantly reminded her of her flower-carrying friend. _I hope she doesn't freak out when she comes to my base and doesn't find me. I'll only be a little bit longer, I think. I'm just trying to get some clues about Gengar's behavior._ She shook away any lingering doubts, earning her a sideways glance from Ekans as she stared at the ghost's spiky back before her. _If I don't learn anything soon, though, I'm going to shadow ball him in the face._ He had that ridiculous talent of avoiding the question and throwing his own insults into the fray, a talent she was mildly jealous of.

Kangaskhan was more than happy to see them as her first customers of the morning, and she made sure they knew that with her enthusiastic gestures and sunny smiles. "Let me guess: Kitty's tea?" At her embarrassed nod, she playfully winked at the fox before reaching for the bowl of water and leaves to do her part in brewing the tea. When the telltale steam rose from the bowl and assaulted their nostrils with a sweet scent, she placed it on the ground and was entertained when Kitty nearly leapt on the bowl to lap it up with her tongue. After a while of watching this spectacle, she suggested teasingly, "Maybe you should have somebody help you with that, dearie; someone could hold onto the bowl and pour it, if their careful."

The umbreon noticed the mischievous twinkle in Gengar's eyes and immediately argued, "No, thank you, I'm doing fine with a bowl." _The last thing I want is for him to have another excuse to follow me._ Avoiding their gazes for a while as she quickly finished the rest of her tea, she pushed the bowl forward and licked the remnants of sweetness from her lips as Gengar retrieved it and dusted off the bottom. "Mm, that was different than last time! What'd you put in it?"

He seemed glad she had noticed the difference, and he was happy to point out the berries he had used. "Pecha, mago and leppa berries. What, your sweet tooth loves the sweets?"

She rolled her eyes and admitted, "Not normally, no, but it's nice in tea. I'd rather _not_ rot out my teeth, thank you." He was amused by her sarcasm, as he always was, and she didn't know whether she should be glad or perturbed. Waving it away for now, she turned to the normal-type watching them and thanked her for her help. "I'm sorry I keep bothering you for your flamethrower."

"Oh, no, it's okay, dear!" Kangaskhan waved away her concern with a flip of her claw, pleased to have been of help so early in the morning. "I'm glad you enjoy your tea so much, and that Gengar's so thoughtful." She seemed to give the ghost a conspiratorial wink, as if they had some inside joke between them, and Kitty looked suspiciously between them as Gengar rolled his eyes in mild aggravation. _Uh, what was that? Does she . . . know something?_ How peculiar.

"I don't know about that," Kitty said half-jokingly, rolling her eyes to hide her interest in their secret exchange, "but I _do_ thank him for the tea. I just hope he doesn't think I'll be in his debt or anything for it." Just as the ghost was going to make some smart-aleck remark about what he thought merited favors, a familiar voice caused everyone to halt and Kitty to gulp nervously at being caught with Gengar.

"Neither do I."

* * *

**Theme**: Exploration

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	33. Exploited

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

_Oh, great. Here comes Kitty's bodyguard to ruin the fun._ Not letting his irritation show, though, Gengar simply grinned at the absol to demonstrate how unfazed he was by the intrusion. "Blade, good morning! Kekeh, I hope you slept well." _Unless you were worrying about her like a lovesick puppy, in which case I hope you slept _horribly_._

Blade only gave him a glare in warning before turning to Kitty, jerking his head to the side in a gesture for her to follow him, and the ghost gritted his teeth. _Oh, no, you don't._ "Come," he added, as if she was too blind to notice his signal. He seemed pretty confident in his control over her actions, and it showed in how he simply turned around and started off to the bridge without waiting to see if she'd follow him. Whether that was true or she just didn't want to cause trouble, Kitty glanced anxiously at them all before starting after him at a fast trot, biting her lip as she usually did when she felt conflicted. Gengar swelled up proudly at the thought that she wasn't sure whether she wanted to run after her teammate or not, and he decided to give her more reason not to.

"Hey, Kitty!" Blade froze in place with obvious irritation, but his umbreon companion glanced over her shoulder with innocent curiosity, and Gengar smirked at the absol's frustration before going on with his plan. "Are you too busy today for me to ask a favor of my own?" _And cue curious tilt of the head._

As expected, Kitty cocked her head to the side as she turned to face him, and her voice was filled with so much youthful curiosity that Kangaskhan smiled in amusement. "What do you need?" If only she knew how adorable she looked without even trying–not that anyone was going to tell her that. Glad to have stopped their progression away from the square, the ghost decided to tread carefully for the rest of the conversation. _I have to convince her to stay without seeming out-of-character. Well, more out-of-character than normal, anyways._

"As you might've noticed this morning," he started casually, "my base isn't the fanciest of places. I've heard you hired a group of pokemon to fix up yours, and I was wondering if you could get a hold of them for me."

She perked up at the mention of the pokemon, and she blurted, "Oh, you mean the Mankey Gang!" She nodded in agreement of his request, and then asked him something unexpected. "Do you want it to look like something specific?" No doubt that was how her base had become shaped like an eevee's head. _How narcissistic . . . and unexpectedly Team Meanies-like._

He blinked. "Uh . . . no, not really. I don't care, I just want it to survive the next storm." She frowned at his words but didn't comment further on the subject.

"Okay, I think I could get a hold of them. I'll need a bag full of peeled chestnuts, knowing them . . ." She started mumbling to herself several things concerning the fighting-types, as if she had forgotten the other pokemon around her. By now, Blade was seeing red and probably plotting the death of a certain ghost-type, but Gengar wasn't bothered by this. _And he won't want to accompany her if I do this–_

"Don't worry, I'll bring them along."

Both the dark-types and his snake teammate (he had almost forgotten about him) perked up tensely at the suggestion, and he wondered about each individuals' separate reasons for their reactions. _What I wouldn't give to read minds._ Then the umbreon cleared her throat–as if things weren't awkward enough–and asked him, "You . . . wanted to come along?"

He grinned mischievously at her quiet, hesitant voice. "Keh, of course! I'd like to meet them before they decide to work on my base!" _Would _you_ let people you don't know work on your house?_ Confident in his ploy, he gave Blade a superior smirk and took great pleasure in the furious scowl he received in turn. Boiling the absol's broccoli was much more rewarding when it got to Kitty as a bonus–or maybe it was the other way around? He was enjoying himself too much to make much sense of things, only waiting eagerly for the umbreon's response.

She worried her lip so much he thought she was going to make it bleed, but she finally mumbled, "Well . . . I guess you could come, but . . ." She tried to find a way out, not knowing he had already planned it so she wouldn't have anything to use against him. "Don't you have missions to do . . . errands around town? What about Medicham?"

_Hm, so I'm not the only one who noticed how irritable my teammate is around her._ Taking it all in stride, he replied calmly, "There's a lull in missions right now, my teammates can do those, and she'll be fine." He rolled his eyes and scoffed at the idea of him actually caring what the fighting-type thought about his actions. He'd never let her run his team before, and he wasn't going to start to let her now, no matter how much she whined about his decisions. An impatient gleam appeared in his eyes, and he asked teasingly, "Kekekeh, are you done? I was hoping I could knock that out today." By the reluctant frown on her face, he figured she had nothing else to say, and so he waved for Ekans to go back home before he started down the path to the bridge, passing Blade without giving him a second glance. He could feel the hateful gaze on his back and felt proud of this accomplishment. _If only others could see how hard I work to do these things; they'd appreciate my determination, I'm sure._

He heard the aggravated sigh before the umbreon came running up from behind him, and as he grinned triumphantly at another plan gone well she mumbled sourly, "Alright, fine, but you owe me a _lot_ of tea." With such a tempting opening left for him just begging to be exploited, he couldn't resist adding a bit of flare to his answer just to fluster her further.

"Kekeh, alright. It's a _date!_"

* * *

**Theme**: Seeing Red

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	34. Confused and Lost

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

If Kitty didn't know any better, she might've said Uproar Forest looked a lot darker than the last time she had been there. Shadows seemed to jump at her from around every corner, and several times she found herself shrieking when ambushed and giving out several panicked shadow balls. Gengar was amused by her skittishness as his snickers grew into guffaws, and her face heated up as she kept on her toes to avoid further embarrassment. Her day was already a gloomy gray, with the rain clouds that threatened to unleash their burden overhead, and now the gray had split into several shades to conceal possible opponents until the very last second. _Stupid clouds, blocking the sun and making it harder to see._ But wasn't she supposed to like the dark? _Dammit, now I'm confused _and _lost._

"Kekekeh, lost?"

"No!" Of course, her shrill response didn't convince him one bit, and he taunted her faulty night vision as her temper simmered for a while in silence. _One, two, three . . . fifteen, sixteen–this isn't helping!_ She was only more aware of how much time was spent in the woods, and when she felt the first drop of water plop on her nose she moaned in agony at the thought of being soaked. "That's fan-freakin'-tastic! Now we're gonna walk around in the rain, cold and lost and looking for the stupidest bunch of morons that–"

"Oh, shaddup," he teased quietly, nudging her in the direction of some shelter.

* * *

**Theme**: Shades of Gray

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	35. Good Deeds Are Never Forgotten

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

**Trivia**: It actually took me a while to figure out what appears in the square. I puzzled for nearly an hour before the obvious choice hit me like a brick.

* * *

After the rain had stopped, they finally found the mankey they were looking for (after beating up several imposters), and Kitty stepped forward to explain the situation to the fighting-types as her companion tossed them a bag of peeled chestnuts. Eager to be paid to work again, they were quick to agree to the job and directions to the base; the umbreon smiled at their excited shrieks before she grabbed her badge to teleport her and Gengar back to town. Before she used it, however, she got a sudden idea and told him to hang on for a moment, then ran over to the mankey and whispered quickly, "Hey, can you guys do me a favor?"

They listened intently once she showed them another handful of chestnuts, and after they accepted her job she ran back to a curious ghost. She didn't give him the time to ask about it before she activated her badge, and the teleportation was unsettling enough to cause him to momentarily forget his question. Motion sickness was the only downside of such a reliable escape route, and she thanked it silently before turning to tell him a short good-bye. Unfortunately, it seemed he recovered faster than she thought and interrupted her with an inquisitive, "What was that?"

She blinked slowly, trying to seem as innocent as she could as she stared him down. "What was what? I don't know what you're talking about."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, then raised an eyebrow as if something had just occurred to him. "Hm . . . right. Well, I need to make sure Medicham hasn't destroyed all of town while I was gone." The way he talked about her made the fighter sound like an irritable wife, and she couldn't stop herself from giggling at his sour expression even as she wondered why he gave up so quickly. _Is she really that destructive when he's off by himself?_ She could only imagine how Gengar was driving Medicham crazy with his constant disappearances to pester Team Foxfire (and her in particular) and began to understand why she held such a grudge against her. It explained a lot, really. She waved her tail in farewell to the ghost and watched his spiky back for a while, mulling over several things before deciding to retire for the day after noticing how low the sun hung in the sky.

She had a rude awakening and a lot of explaining to do the next morning when Sakura burst through her door, but after she soothed the worried venusaur the next few days were rather quiet–and boring. The cloudy sky hovered over the town for several days without letting loose, making her reluctant to go out and simply took some time off, and when the rain finally came down it poured so hard she couldn't leave without getting soaked to the bone. She slept most of that day away and woke up to a world that was bright with sunlight reflecting off of the morning dew–which hurt her eyes. She retreated to a dark dungeon to avoid the harsh light with piles of missions, and she barely made it to town to return her things before the sun began to set, casting everything the color of orange. As she was walking home, however, a shout from the bridge behind her pulled her attention towards the ghost jogging in her direction, and she examined his wide eyes for a moment before realization caused her to smile proudly at her handiwork.

"You!" He panted when he finally caught up to her, and he took a moment to catch his breath as she giggled uncontrollably at his obvious fatigue. She didn't know ghost-types could sweat, but a faint sheen on his forehead revealed the trivial fact to be true as he attempted to wipe it dry with his equally sweaty arm. He finally continued accusingly, "You . . . told the mankey to . . ."

"To give the base your likeness?" She smiled when he nodded, and she answered him with a trace of amusement in her voice when he looked too winded to interrogate her further. "Well, it's _your_ base. Maybe it can help remind Medicham who the boss is." Her words seemed to stun him into keeping silent, but the question was still in his eyes as he made faces trying to find a way to word it. She saved him the trouble, however, by quietly telling him, "You've changed a lot, Gengar, and . . . good deeds are never forgotten." She gave him a genuine smile, albeit a small one. "And you still owe me lots of tea, you know."

For a moment, his mouth just hung open in utter disbelief as he absorbed what she had told him, and then it snapped shut to become a very pleased smirk that strangely didn't bother her. "Kekeh, what a pleasant surprise," he mumbled, crossing his arms as he looked down at her. "That was awfully considerate of you. Does that mean . . . you've finally fallen for my irresistible charm?" She snorted and turned her back to him, flicking her tail in a dismissive manner even though she knew he'd follow her regardless as she started towards her own base. He quickly caught up to stroll beside her with his Cheshire-esque grin, poking her shoulder and snickering at the irritated grunt she gave in return. "Oh, you can admit it! I won't laugh, I promise." Winking conspiratorially, he whispered, "Kekeh, it was inevitable, after all."

"In your dreams," was her reply, although it was distorted by bubbly laughter towards his predictably ridiculous behavior. _He's so over the top, it's hilarious!_ Trying to hide her amusement and failing, she turned her face away to look at the darkening sky, hoping he didn't see through her façade and realize how much she enjoyed his company now. She had absolutely no clue that he was planning something of his _own_ to surprise her with.

A few mornings later, after being swamped by missions that had waited just for dry weather to be sent to her mailbox, she sleepily dragged her feet down the dirt path and yawned widely in her supposed solitude. "Sucks being Platinum Rank," she mumbled to no one in particular, and she jumped with a squeak when she was unexpectedly answered by a presence she noticed only after he spoke up.

"That's what happens when you're super awesome!" Kitty whirled around to stare at Caterpie in surprise, wondering when the bug-type had gotten there before thanking him shyly for his compliment. He puffed out his chest, or the equivalent on his worm-like body, and stated boldly, "That's why, when I grow up, I wanna be just like you!"

"Err . . . right." She laughed lightly, telling him, "I'm sure you don't want to be taken from your world, changed into something else, lied to, temporarily an exile . . ."

He rolled his eyes and nudged her leg playfully. "_No,_ silly! I meant leading a rescue team and saving the world!" He laughed with her, and then he suddenly sped up to crawl ahead of her towards town, calling back to her, "Come on, Kitty, I wanna show you something cool!"

Curious about what got him excited, she jogged after him across the bridge and entered the square to find a crowd of pokemon had already gathered there. Caterpie was nowhere to be seen. "Caterpie? Hey, where'd you go?" Her voice gained a few pokemon's attentions, and they ushered her towards the center of the group with whispered encouragement, patting her on the shoulder and lightly pushing her forward. "Uh, wait, what's going on–" Her soft gasp robbed her of any other protests she could have thought of at the moment, too shell-shocked to find words to describe her astonishment.

Standing in the center of the square was a new ornament to decorate the town: A stone statue of an eevee and a bulbasaur standing with determined expressions on their faces had been erected in honor of Kitty and Sakura's exploits, and she saw what looked to be clouds at their feet as a tribute to their venture to Sky Tower. She stood in awe of the monument, wondering who had made it and why, and then she caught sight of Team A.C.T. grouped behind the statue with satisfied looks on their faces. She ran over to them so fast she nearly tripped over her own paws, and she asked them, "D-did _you guys_ do this?"

Tyranitar nodded with a cheerful grin, and the fire lizard beside him explained, "We both worked together to get the basic shape and Alakazam did the details. Do you know how hard it is to do fur?" He chuckled at her mock-scoff before he admitted he had had fun doing it. "It's the least we could do, since you two saved the world and all."

"W-wow . . . thank you. All of you!" Quickly blinking away happy tears, she cleared her throat to make sure her voice wouldn't crack before inquiring curiously, "What made you do this now, though? It seems so sudden."

"Actually . . ." She glanced at the psychic-type curiously, eyeing his amused expression with interest as a small grin appeared on his vulpine face. "This wasn't our idea."

She blinked. ". . . What?"

He chuckled and waved her curiosity aside, simply telling her it was an "old friend." "He's helped you before, you know. He'd be glad to do it again." She was confused by his statement but decided to take his word for it, knowing this wasn't the first time he had been vague in his explanations and turning to examine the statue closely. She had forgotten what she looked like before she evolved, even though it wasn't much longer than two months ago, and she wondered to herself if she was really that adorable as an eevee. _I'm thinking they had a little artistic freedom with this._ Sakura's cheery expression was spot on, however, and she examined it with a wistful smile before something caught her eye underneath the statues. Words were engraved on the pedestal the two figures stood on, and she tilted her head to the side curiously before walking around to examine it a better angle–finding the only clue she needed to figure out who had suggested this sculpture.

" "Good deeds are never forgotten," " she whispered to herself, and a smile, brighter than even the stone copy of her partner could attempt to make, found its way onto her face as she glanced around curiously for any sign of the ghost she needed to thank. She couldn't pick him out from the rest of the pokemon, however, and she settled on telling him the next time he sought her out to pester her as she quickly wiped away the happy tears that threatened to spill out of her eyes. _God, I hope he isn't actually here and seeing me cry!_ Eager to wipe her face dry, she was startled by the bug she had completely forgotten about in all of the excitement as he sidled up to bounce energetically beside her.

"So! Did you like it? Was it cool? It's cool, isn't it?"

She smiled and licked the top of his head in what she supposed was a reassuring way. "Yeah," she murmured, dearly wishing she could say this to the ghost himself, "it's the best gift I've ever been given."

* * *

**Theme**: Forgotten

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	36. Confess

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

**Trivia**: This chapter made me rethink the plot of a previous **CurseOfLoveShipping** story, where I had created an extra OC to go along with an important subplot. He's been replaced by the character you see here, who I think you all know.

* * *

Sakura examined the statue dedicated to Team Foxfire's heroics and gave a heavy sigh, not noticing the pair of steel blue eyes trained on her until their owner decided to greet her quietly. She blinked in surprise at the orange dragon beside her, but politely inclined her head before turning curiously to face him. "Hi, Charizard. What're you doing here?"

He shrugged and gave a soft hum, glancing at the stone figures he had helped create. She found his silence comforting instead of offensive, and she let the conversation die quietly as they both stared at it, ignoring the villagers that walked around them with chores and errands to do as they enjoyed each other's company. To be honest, she hadn't made close friends with anyone other than Kitty since her arrival as an eevee, so this companionship she felt with Charizard was a refreshing adjustment to her schedule. If she let her inner dreamer make a comment about the situation, it would've mentioned the statue symbolizing the start of something new out of the celebration of the past–but of course she didn't say that aloud.

To her surprise, his raspy whisper broke the silence, and he gestured faintly towards the statue with a wingtip. "You always had a brave front on." Indeed, an unwavering smile was forever etched onto her look-alike's face, and his eyes drew to her as a toothy grin came into existence. "Even when you two found us lying on the cavern floor in bad shape, you were determined to stop the trouble the earthquakes caused. I've always admired you after that . . . although until you evolved, I always thought of you as a little kid." When she gave a small huff, he laughed heartily at her sulky expression, the membrane of his wing brushing against her side in his mirth.

"Because I was small?"

"Well, that," he admitted before adding with a sheepish grin, "but mostly because you were so darn cute. How could I be intimidated by a little bulbasaur as nice and caring as you?" The embarrassing compliment gave her cheeks a rosy hue, and he chuckled quietly and shook his head at statue that matched the image in his mind. "Hard to believe you used to be so small. You're so . . . grown-up now."

The heavy sigh returned with a vengeance at his statement. "I know." She glanced down at her feet, cringing at how big and cumbersome they were now. Her agility was next to nothing now, and while she enjoyed the strength she acquired through evolution she couldn't help but regret her choice to change so drastically. "It's like . . . I'm an entirely different pokemon now."

His steely gaze slid over to her, and curiosity gave way to concern as he noticed her sour expression. "Hey, what's wrong?" When her eyes shyly met his, something clicked in his mind as he gave a soft "oh" of understanding. "It's weird being so different, isn't it?"

"I . . ." She hesitated, swallowed dryly, and finally confessed something that had been bothering her for a while. "Sometimes, I wake up and wonder why I'm so far away from the ground. I forget that I evolved and have to take a moment getting used to it all over again." She frowned at the carefree smile on her stone counterpart's face, wondering all of her happiness had disappeared to. "I didn't stop to think when I was in that cave; I just let it change me as much as it could."

Charizard hummed in agreement, and he commented, "I didn't stop, either, when I was younger. I passed quickly through the charmeleon stage and went straight to what I am now." Then, he coughed nervously and glanced away, scratching his cheek with a claw as he admitted an embarrassment of his own. "I . . . was too big to get through the cave at first."

Despite herself, she giggled at his expense, and she asked incredibly as he blushed, "Really?" From there, she listened to his story of evolution, learning of a similar cave where other pokemon had chosen to evolve and where Charizard had trouble getting back out because of his size. She laughed and he grumbled, and eventually the grass-type's spirits were lifted out of her depression as she silently thanked him for his company. The orange dragon was always a bit of a loud and jolly pokemon–as well as a dork–but he was warm and friendly overall, giving her sanctuary as she let all of her insecurities melt away in his fiery presence.

* * *

**Theme**: Dreamer

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	37. Cleanse

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

_She didn't know where she was. The umbreon stumbled through the mist in a panic, until she got up on her two feet and started to run through the trees at blinding speeds, calling out a name that seemed so important. Blonde hair whipped around and glowed like liquid gold under the moonlight as she threw her hands out to someone, but she tripped and fell into a pool of blinding light._

_She fought to reach the end, and suddenly she fell to the very bottom of the lake to find Sakura the bulbasaur waiting for her there. A vine tugged her towards the surface, but something tried to drag her back under and started to choke her–and then she was flailing with all four legs, scratching and clawing and biting to fight free of its grip._

_She was free, she was dead, she was–_

She was awake.

Kitty fought down the fear she felt surging through her as she breathed slowly. It wasn't worth getting freaked out over, and she reminded herself it was only a dream. _A nightmare,_ she conceded, _but still a dream. I haven't had one in a long time, let alone one I could remember . . ._ Then again, those had been of an entirely different matter, being important to the fate of the world and not just a figment of her imagination coming to haunt her.

Shaking off any lingering exhaustion and getting to her feet, she padded to her door and slipped out quietly as if to avoid waking imaginary tenants in her base, raising her face to let the moonlight wash over her and chase away any remaining darkness from her heart. Admiring the purity of the sky, she decided to get as close to it as possible and forewent the use of her roof to do so; scouting out for nearby trees, she found one that was taller than her base and scurried up its branches until she reached the highest branch capable of holding her weight.

_This is where I belong._ All of the times she had felt out of place melted away in the face of such awe-inspiring beauty; nothing could reach her in the mysterious darkness of the night, and she felt cradled like a baby as she leaned against the rough bark of the tree and simply let the sounds of life cleanse her soul.

* * *

**Theme**: Mist

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	38. Cooperate

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

To say he was angry at the ghost would've been an understatement of the highest–or lowest–proportions. It would've been more accurate for Blade to admit he had intense hatred burning in his gut for the leader of Team Meanies that wouldn't be extinguished until said pokemon disappeared from town, and even that wasn't entirely precise. He'd be more than happy to eradicate the ghost-type from existence via multiple uses of razor wind, but unfortunately it's only possible to die once, so he was denied the luxury of imagining several horrifying deaths for Gengar. But Blade was a calm, cool and collected individual who took pride in his ability to withstand even the most annoying of pokemon, and so he was determined to not let anything get the best of him. Today, however, was one of his biggest tests.

He would've given anyone who tried to tell him Kitty would willingly spend time with Gengar a black eye for lying to him, but his vision was a perfect twenty-twenty and even he could see them walking through Pokemon Square side-by-side chatting enthusiastically. He wasn't the only one surprised by this, but he was the only one being discreet about it; Lombre openly rubbed his eyes as if they were a hallucination, and Persian's ears tilted backwards before snapping forward to try to catch their conversation. Kangaskhan didn't seem bothered by the sight as she rocked her child to sleep, and he could only wonder what it was she knew exactly that gave her such ease when facing something that should've been a sign of the apocalypse. Did she know what happened to cause this? He wasn't too sure he could ask her.

He didn't dare get close enough to listen to them, but he did take the time to examine their expressions for the precious time he could before they went out of his sight: Kitty was rolling her eyes at something the ghost said, and then he waved a claw to emphasize his words as her eyes widened in disbelief. The absol glared at the spiky back just before a hut blocked them from view, and then he gave a sour huff and turned around only to catch sight of someone else thoroughly interested in the duo that had just left. Medicham narrowed her eyes at the dark-type and scoffed haughtily before strolling past, but it was obvious by the way her shoulders tensed up that she knew she had been caught in the act. Blade furrowed his eyebrows as he wondered what she could want with the two for only a second, quickly coming to the conclusion that she didn't like their bond just as much as he didn't. He distantly considered the idea of teaming up with the fighter, but he swiftly shook the thought away with a dark scowl.

No matter how identical their goals, nothing short of another apocalypse would cause the two to work together.

* * *

**Theme**: Burning

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	39. Battle Plan

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"Kekeh, it's nothing, just an idea I had while we were in Uproar Forest."

"Nothing, my foot! You were planning it for that long?"

The ghost rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't exactly call it _planning_, but–"

"You suggested they make a statue for me," she interrupted him quickly, "and didn't even step forward to take credit for it or anything. It's very un-Meanies-like of you." After a moment, a smile crept onto her face, and she added a bit quieter, "But it _was_ very nice of you. Really, what made you think of that?"

"Kekeh, honestly?" When she nodded eagerly, he gestured behind them at her house and answered, "On the way to the dungeon, I noticed how bare you base was and wondered why you didn't get the mankey to spruce it up for you. After mentally redecorating your yard to pass the time, I decided you needed an ego boost so you'd understand my level of self-confidence." He endured the tail-slap he received with a grin. "Keh, it seemed stupid to put it in your front yard, though, when almost no one comes out here, so I opted for the square instead."

Kitty mulled over his words as they stood in front of the base, and he took the opportunity to rifle through her mailbox and flip through the missions. She was tempted to make a comment about the first day they met, but she bit her tongue and instead walked over to look over them as he organized the envelopes in what looked to be a special system of his. _If Sakura was here, she'd _flip. Momentarily wondering where the grass-type had gone to, she was pulled back to reality when he pulled out a handful of papers and handed them to her, placing the rest back into the mailbox as she looked over her pile. All of them went to Howling Forest, a place shaded by hundreds of trees and occupied by several poochyena and houndour–fellow dark-types. Wondering if he had picked those out specifically for those reasons, she didn't get a chance to ask when he entered her base without warning, calling back to her, "Kekekeh, you don't decorate much, do you?"

"Uh–hey!" She ran in after him and scowled as he tapped the water-filled vase experimentally. "You break anything, you're gonna replace it."

He rolled his eyes at her announcement as if it was entirely unnecessary. "Keh! Chill, Kitty, I'm not going to break anything." Looking around at the sparse furnishings thoughtfully, he added, "Although I think you need to reconsider what you need in here. A table, for example?" As she huffed irritably at his criticism, he strolled around the place and continued counting off an imaginary list. "The straw bed is a little lacking, you could use a tub instead of a vase, probably should have some sort of pantry so you don't have to constantly go to town for your food . . . and would it kill you to give the room a bit of personality?"

She scoffed as she padded to his side, muttering sarcastically, "Anything else, Mr. Home Designer? It's not like I could just buy one at a flea market or anything here." Remembering that pokemon here wouldn't know what a flea market is, she shook her head and sighed heavily. "Never mind. Where the hell would I get all of this stuff?"

". . . Hm. You could send out requests, like people do for missions. I'm sure Pelipper can find _someone_ who makes things like that." He shrugged as he had no more advice on the issue before a mischievous grin appeared on his face. "_I'd_ be glad to try making furniture, if it'd make you happy."

She rolled her eyes at his familiar behavior and tried to put a stop to it immediately. "Whatever, Gengar. I doubt a _ghost_ can deal with _physical labor._ Sounds kind of paradoxical."

"Keh, don't use big words around me." His grin grew wider at her incredulous expression, and he gave a mock-bow as he continued with a smug tone, "I already know you're both smart and pretty, so you don't need to rub it in with confusing terms."

"I think you're just confused in the head," she growled as she swept up stray hay with her paws to push back towards her bedding. She'd have to get some new hay soon, but for now it would have to do. She cast a meaningful glare over her shoulder at the smirking ghost-type, adding, "And if you don't get straightened out soon, I'm going to have to get Sakura or Blade to do it for me." Much to her surprise, a flicker of annoyance and bitter resentment darkened his face at the mention of the other dark-type, but it was gone as soon as she saw it while he retained the seriousness it left in its wake. She frowned and turned around to face him in silent deliberation, wondering what it was exactly about her male teammate that caused them not to get along, and then she decided she might as well ask Gengar directly. "What makes you guys fight, anyways? I guess I can understand _his_ reasoning, but you . . ."

He waved away her inquiry, but when she refused to back down he gained an angry tic on one side of his mouth as he tried to explain it to her. "Ugegeh. Well, y'see . . . he just . . ." The ghost scowled and crossed his arms. "Geh, he just gets on my nerves. It's as simple as that."

Her curiosity grew with his lackluster explanation, and she nosily urged, "You mean, you two just don't mesh? That's like saying you and I don't get along, and _that's_ certainly changed. Are you sure it isn't anything else?" His scowl was unexpected, and she realized with a start that he knew exactly what caused friction between him and Blade–and he didn't want to tell her. _Hm, that's suspicious. I've got to ask around and see if anyone else knows about this._ Tucking this information away for later, she shook her head and made a hasty retreat, sitting down so she could lift a paw in a sign of surrender. "Alright, fine. I'll just chalk it up to male pride and all. I mean, I know how "confident" you are." Satisfied when he rolled his eyes and snorted, she glanced at the front door and bit her lip. "I really should go look for Sakura, so we can get those missions done and all . . ."

"Keh, don't worry about it." He shrugged off her concern and made for the door, pausing before he exited to look back at her and grin. "You still owe me a date, you know."

"Uh, I think you mean _you_ owe me _tea._" She rolled her eyes at his cackles and motioned for him to leave, shouting after him, "I'll be waiting for that tea when I get back! Need something to relax after a hard day's work!" Grinning at his sarcastic laughter, she waited until after he left to let out a sigh of frustration. She didn't even have a day to come up with a plan to start prying secrets from him, and she had to waste part of it looking for her partner. _I remember when it used to be just me and her going out and helping people; we had so much free time back then._ She turned her gaze to the window wistfully and mumbled, "Now, I have no time to myself."

* * *

**Theme**: Out of Time

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	40. Anxious

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

**Author's Note**: Because of personal issues and writers' block, once I upload Chapter Fifty, this story will go on a temporary hiatus, or be put on hold for a time. This is because, as of this update, I only have forty-five finished prompts, and there's no way that I can keep up with five updates a week when I have so much homework to do and I don't have an always one-hundred percent reliable motivation when it comes to my writing. I apologize, but there's really nothing I can do - it's all do to "extenuating circumstance," if you will.

* * *

The first step to calming down was knowing how to breathe. The second was laying down the pieces she already had and trying to fit them all together. The third was not screaming when nothing made sense. The fourth was a repeat of steps one through three, just in case she didn't let out enough frustration. The fifth was finally going to get help.

"Kitty, what's got you groaning and huffing over here?" The venusaur glanced at her partner in concern. "You've been like that all morning." After she had dragged the grass-type away from a conversation with Charizard, the umbreon had been in a sour mood for the trip to the dungeon they were now combing in search of a missing pokemon. Sakura had finally had enough of it, it seemed, and decided to find the source of her friend's angst.

A moment's hesitation was all it took before Kitty decided to unload all of her woes in a hurried explanation. "And now, he's going to make me tea when I get back! What do I do?" All of her frustration overwhelmed her in one mighty grunt of helplessness, and she paused in her walking to smack her head against the rocky wall with the hope that it would trigger a plan to form instantaneously. "I have no clue what I'm going to do."

"He's making you tea?" When she nodded, Sakura mulled over the situation with a considerate frown, worrying her lip with a fang and humming softly. "Hm. He seems to like doing that, huh? I mean, has he ever refused to do it before?"

"No," she admitted, "but I'm thinking it's because it gives him some sort of empowering feeling to be needed or something." She sighed and hung her head, mumbling dejectedly, "I want to know why he does all of the things he does, and why he and Blade don't get along, but I don't know how I'm going to get him to _tell_ me. I mean, his secrets are locked up so tight, I'd need a key to pry him open!" She heard a sudden sharp gasp, and she picked her head up to glance at her partner curiously. "What? Step on a stick?"

"No, no," Sakura quickly told her, "it's just–you're right. You need a key to open him up."

". . . I don't follow."

"Look," she explained, "you want to know what's going on in his head, right?" When Kitty nodded, she went on, "And he's not the easiest to predict, so you'd have to really know him to figure out what those subtle clues really mean. _So,_ my suggestion is for you to get to know him . . . as a _friend_."

The umbreon blinked several times, and the walk was silent for the next few minutes as she barely paid attention to her surroundings while encompassed in her thoughts. _Get to know Gengar? That sounds so weird. I mean, sure, he's been much nicer since I came back, but does that really mean we could be friends? I don't know . . . but unless I want to try developing mind-reading powers, this is my only plan._ Opening her mouth and hesitating momentarily, she carefully asked, "How do you think I should go about that?"

Sakura smiled and softly shoved her with a shoulder. "How do you think, stupid? Be _friendly._ Or at least civilized."

". . . Crap. That's easier said than done, you know."

The grass-type sighed, giving her an apologetic smile. "I know, Kitty. But, you'll never know if it can be done if you don't try, right? Besides," she went on jokingly, "who knows? He might turn out to be a cool guy, after you get past his jerk-ish tendencies."

Kitty scoffed, but immediately her mind brought her back to the time he had offered to make her tea when she was feeling wistful about her family, being much more than simply civilized. For a while, it had seemed like he _cared_ about her problems, and it was at that point that she had realized he wasn't all he tried to appear as. Ariados' advice wasn't forgotten, either, and his words echoed in her head forebodingly. _"It makes me wonder what he's trying to hide."_ Was he really hiding something? Why would he be the way he was to try to keep something a secret? The ghost was an enigma she couldn't even consider unwrapping, and yet here she was planning on doing exactly that. _I think I've lost it . . . more so than I have already._

She was anxious and excited to return home, where Gengar was surely waiting.

* * *

**Theme**: Knowing How

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	41. Friends

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

Kitty took a deep breath before stepping into the base, belatedly wishing she hadn't told Sakura to go hang out in town. _I could have used a little support._ But she knew it would ruin her chances of getting any information from the ghost, so she shook away her indecision as she glanced around her home. The shadows hid nothing from her night vision, and the moonlight revealed the house to be empty, excluding her. _Good, he isn't here yet. I can collect my thoughts for a little bit before–_

"How was the mission?"

"_Eep!_" She started with a squeak and stumbled when she tried to turn around too fast, ultimately making a fool of herself in front of a grinning Gengar holding a steaming bowl of tea. _So much for having some time to myself,_ she grumbled, casting him a glare before scolding him for surprising her. He simply snickered and strode over to her, placing the bowl down before her and taking a packet of paper from under his arm. He waved the newspaper in her face before placing it beside her, and she dragged it over to glance at the headlines with mild interest. _Oh, look, Team A.C.T. is sticking around for a few more days. Guess Sakura'll get to hang out with them more after all._ She wasn't sure what was causing the venusaur to seek their company, but her ghost problems had stopped her from investigating further.

"Kekekeh, you didn't answer me."

She rolled her eyes at his arrogant smirk. "Uh, no, I didn't, because I was recovering from a heart attack! Sorry for forgetting when I nearly _died._" Sticking her tongue out immaturely and scowling when he returned the gesture with his impressively long tongue, she pushed the newspaper aside and decided to humor him. "Well, it was just like any other mission, really; looked for a missing pokemon, delivered a wanted item and made sure no one's burned down the town while we were gone. Nothing new, really." As he nodded in agreement to her ordinary day, curiosity forced her to speak up on something that had been nagging her as she cocked her head to the side. "What about you? How was your day?"

He paused, a surprised look on his face giving away him being caught unawares, and he blinked a few times before regaining his composure and his arrogant smirk. Moving around the bowl to sit beside her, he looked over and answered coolly, "Well, it was filled with the always curious Ekans and always moody Medicham, so it's the same as any other day. It seems the only interesting thing either of us have had happen to us today is enjoying each other's company." Grinning mischievously when she rolled her eyes, he poked her shoulder with a claw and teased, "Kekeh, you should be glad I'm here to brighten up your day! What would you ever do without me?"

"Probably live healthier without the everyday scares," she mumbled with a huff, but she couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face soon afterward as he snickered quietly beside her. _Well, this might be easier than I thought. Maybe he _has_ changed for the better?_ Encouraged by the thought, she lightly shoved him with her shoulder and asked, "And what would you do without me to pester you for tea every day? You would have no purpose to life anymore! You'd be bored out of your skull."

"I don't have a skull," he argued playfully.

"Whatever!" Rolling her eyes and wondering what she would do if they got stuck that way, Kitty went on sarcastically, "And then you'd have to make do with the statue in the square if you ever wanted to see my _beautiful_ face. Oh, the horror!" She smiled slightly when he laughed at her exaggeration, but then she felt his claws on her chin and had a distinct feeling of déjà vu–the memory of spring cleaning in the kecleon brothers' shop caused her heart to skip a beat as her face was turned towards his evaluating gaze. "Uh, what're you . . . ?"

". . . Hm." Twisting her head side-to-side once more, he let go of her face and shrugged nonchalantly at her bewildered frown. "Eh, you're cute, I'll give you that. Especially when you tilt your head to the side. I wouldn't say "beautiful," though."

Not knowing whether to feel awkward or insulted, she went with the latter by instinct and scowled at the impish gleam in his eyes. "Hey! If we're gonna continue getting together like this, you're going to have to stop that!" Immediately, she cursed her big mouth as his curiosity was peaked by her fascinating choice of words. _Oh, great. Smooth move, dumbass._ She already knew she had blown it, so she blazed ahead without any regrets as he examined her with interest. "I mean, I'm not going to stand taking all of these compliments and insults simultaneously, and one day you're going to get another shadow ball to the face."

"Wait," he stopped her tirade with a claw, looking as if he was trying to absorb what she just said. "Let me get this straight: You were planning on having further dates with me?" Her face contorted as she began to protest, but he interrupted her with a smug grin on his face. "I knew it! You really can't resist my charm! Kekeh, what'd I say? _Inevitable._"

"No, that's not–I didn't mean that!" Making a face at his cackling, she growled, "I _meant_ you making me tea and coming over to chill–_not_ a date. Because this is _not_ a date. Got it? Good!" Not even waiting for an answer, she leaned down and began to lap up her nearly forgotten tea, fuming at his assumption as he continued to grin and snicker beside her. _What a jerk. I should just shadow ball him anyway. Makes me so mad . . ._

"Kekekeh, slow down before you choke." She jumped and nearly did do just that when he put a claw on her shoulder, and their proximity caused her fur to stand on end as she tried to scoot away discreetly. She only managed two inches before he continued, "And how would I explain that to Sakura? She'd bullet seed me into oblivion." She was painfully aware of his gaze on her, but she refused to look at him as she hurried to finish her bowl of tea and start explaining herself–until he suddenly beat her to the punch. "So, what made you decide to make these tea parties a permanent part of your schedule? You might have an addiction you need to curb."

She took the last gulp of her bowl before pushing it aside and finally looking him in the eye, noticing the way his gaze tried to pierce through her to read her thoughts and almost shivering at the idea. _Keep your cool, Kitty. It's just a conversation that could lead to the greatest secret of all time. No biggie._ Taking a deep breath, she decided it could only get easier after this and tried to clarify things for him. "Well, I've realized that you're not the same jerk you used to be, and I guess I figured the worst that could happen was getting constantly pestered by you. That's offset by the tea, you see," she added pointedly. "So, there's no reason for me to . . . _not_ be friends with you, I guess."

" "You guess?" Keh, how confident you sound. You're giving me a run for my money." Enjoying the scowl that appeared on her face for a moment, he sobered considerably and let his smirk drop for the moment. "So, what you're saying is . . . you wouldn't mind admitting to anyone on your team or in town that you're friends with me now?" At her hesitation, he repeated slowly, "Anyone at all?"

_He means Blade, obviously. Who else would vehemently argue that I should burn him at the stake?_ She found herself at a crossroads, knowing how her teammate would react but feeling she just had to know Gengar's secrets. _I mean, he's not _that_ bad anymore–and dammit, he makes me tea. He has some brownie points to save himself from judgment for a while._ She had always worried about others' opinions in the past and fretted over anything she overheard in town, but as she sat next to the irritating yet helpful ghost she was overcome with the idea that she deserved to have control of her own life now; she didn't need to ask for a second opinion if she didn't want to, and no one could say that what she did or what she said was wrong and expect her to agree with them. _I've fought through volcanoes, blizzards and a crazy green dragon in the clouds to save the world from certain ruin. I don't think I need anyone's approval for anything after all of that!_ Satisfied with her reasoning, she finally pinned Gengar with a confident stare and told him with a tone that showed the weight but finality of her decision, "I don't care what other people think. I freakin' saved the world! Doesn't that give me a little bit of leeway?"

He raised an eyebrow in obvious surprise at her choice, and his mouth actually opened several times as he hesitated to voice his thoughts. He finally admitted honestly, "I never thought I'd hear you sound so . . . _Meanies_-like."

Blinking in confusion, she replayed the words in her head and realized his observation held some merit. _That does sound a bit selfish . . . oh, well. I'm a brat, and I know it._ Shaking her head dismissively, she let a mischievous grin grow on her face as she teased, "I guess I can blame _you_ for that. Your jerk-ish tendencies must be rubbing off on me!" _And strangely enough, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I mean, I'm not going around and stealing people's lunch money; that's a good sign if I ever saw one._ She found that his smirk was reassuring instead of worry-inducing this time, and she bumped shoulders with him and said, "Hey, I forgot to ask what you put in my tea this time around."

His grin did nothing to hide his satisfaction, and she let him have his small victory as he explained the differences between this bowl and the last he had brewed. She listened intently to his voice, not noticing the claw he had placed on her shoulder until it slipped away to grab the bowl and move it aside. He stayed beside her for a while simply talking, never trying to grab her shoulder again, and Sakura found them sitting on the floor of the base recounting several missions they had endured over the months as a part of their jobs.

* * *

**Theme**: Fork in the Road

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	42. Temper

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"So, you're friends then?"

"Yep. Or, we're trying to be. I'm not sure how that'll work, though . . ."

"You just have to be friendly, hence the word "friends." "

"Oh, haha, so funny. Don't make me smack you, Sakura."

"Calm down! I'm just teasing. But really, I don't think you'll need to work that hard; you have an ability to make friends rather easily, despite your temper."

"Was that supposed to be reassuring? Because it wasn't."

"Heehee, well, it's true! You can get _so_ mad–and you sound so funny when your voice gets all high-pitched and defensive!"

"_Sakura!_"

"See? Haha–_ow. _Hey, no need to get violent."

"Yes, there is. Meanie."

"Hahaha, okay, I'm done. But really, I think you'll be fine. What're you planning to do?"

"Planning? Well . . . I was gonna get tea later. Is that good?"

"Eh, it's a start, I guess."

* * *

**Theme**: Start

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	43. Storm

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

"Should I be worried that I'm sad I can't get my tea today?"

The pounding of rain against the walls of the base seemed to underline her words as the crash of thunder trailed dutifully after the lightning strikes around the area. The storm had hit without warning or mercy and was showing the full extent of nature's fury as it forced pokemon to stay inside lest they get battered by the fierce winds and torrential rain. Kitty sat staring at the water that managed to creep into the glass-less window and splattered the floor with puddles that slowly drained back outside (no doubt flooding the "yard") and heaved a heavy sigh. Days like these were always boring and uneventful, since they couldn't even leave to do a mission in this weather, and Sakura understood her friend's boredom as she turned to look at the umbreon's crestfallen expression.

"Nah," the venusaur replied, waving a vine dismissively at her worries. "I'd welcome a cup of tea myself, if it meant I'd get to do something other than sit here with nothing to do. Games are only fun for so long, after all."

Kitty turned with a grin and teased, "What, am I really that boring?" As the grass-type laughed, she pretended to be offended as she raised a paw to her chest. "I can't believe you've never said anything before! I'm hurt!"

"You're as over-the-top as Gengar," Sakura commented, enjoying the soft huff she received in return as a sign of her friend's displeasure. Reminded of the ghost, she then carefully asked, "Were you really planning to meet up with him today? I saw the newsletter in the mail saying it would be bad today."

The umbreon sighed dejectedly, admitting quietly, "I saw it, too, but I was hoping it would blow just over us overnight. I guess Castform is never wrong after all." She scoffed as she remembered the faulty meteorology of humans before she came to this world, and then she shook her head and turned to her partner curiously. "You mean you didn't have any plans to cancel today? I thought you hung out with Team A.C.T. every once in a while." She was interested in the way the venusaur's face reddened and began to wonder what it was exactly that brought her friend to the Gold Rank rescue team so often, but she politely refrained from asking as she took her friend's silence as a definite "yes." "I just wish this storm had a bit more tact. Couldn't it have waited until we had nothing really to do?"

A sympathetic sigh was her answer. "Being a rescue team, you know that was never going to happen. And since it's summer, we can only expect more of these to ruin our schedules," she added quietly, eyes drifting to the window to watch the wind whip branches relentlessly outside. It was getting more vicious as they watched, and the storm that ate up the entire day was a testament to the omnipresent danger of natural risks and surprises that rescuers everywhere had to handle.

* * *

**Theme**: Nature's Fury

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	44. Unacceptable

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

It was a rare day when Team Meanies didn't have anyone to harass–or, more precisely, when Gengar wasn't able to harass Kitty like he wanted to. But with the constant rains keeping everyone indoors, he wasn't able to waltz into her base and have a conversation with her as she drank her mandatory bowl of tea. He _was_ a ghost, so the rain wouldn't bother him–but when he went intangible, he couldn't hold the bowl, and he wasn't about to get soaked just to put a scowl–or smile–on Kitty's face. No matter how pleasing either sight was.

His frown deepened when he thought of how boring his second day trapped inside was going to be. _What can I do? Scare Medicham? Listen to Ekans snore? There's not much to do around here._ Indeed, most of his entertainment recently had come from teasing, plotting and thinking about Kitty, and now that he was stuck indoors he felt his sanity begin to slip. Medicham was restlessly organizing envelops they had salvaged from their mailbox that morning, and Ekans had curled up in his corner to sleep the sluggish day away–that lucky snake. _Wish _I_ could just take a nap,_ he mentally grumbled, glaring at his oblivious teammate as he paced on the wooden floorboards of his newly refurbished base. Staring at his feet reminded him once more of Team Foxfire's leader, and he raised his gaze to look at the storm outside as, against his will, his thoughts wandered to her.

He didn't know what to make of her anymore; the umbreon had proved to be much different than her previous form, and he was starting to wonder if that scarf had altered more than just her appearance. Or maybe she had changed because of her adventures? He wasn't sure of the long-term side effects of traveling across the most extreme terrain of the land, or barely surviving Rayquaza's hyper beam–or returning to this world when she was going to the next. For all he knew, she was being her original self after regaining all of her memories. He couldn't place a claw on what specifically was so strange, but some instances heavily hinted towards it.

_Such as my new base._ He examined the deep purple walls and wide windows, imagining the arrogant smirk the mankey had carved into the wood outside as he continued his pacing. _I saw the extra bag she gave them. While she doesn't have much purpose for them otherwise, she didn't _have_ to tell them to do this. It was a nice gesture._ He grinned as he remembered the flabbergasted look on Medicham's face when she realized she would have to sleep inside a building that looked exactly like her leader. So far, she hadn't refused to do it, but he was sure she wasn't too happy about it. _If I told her who suggested this, she would have another reason to hate Kitty._

At this thought, a curious frown marred his smug expression as he glanced at the fighter. _What _is_ her problem? She's been rather moody every time I come back from bothering Kitty. What is she, jealous or something?_ He scoffed at the ridiculous idea. _No, she's just a whiny, controlling person. She'll just have to get over it._

Speaking of the fighting-type, she glanced at him and gave an exasperated sigh, causing him to stop. "Are you done pacing," she asked sarcastically, "or are you planning on wearing a hole in your new floor?" She eyed his feet scornfully, which gave him a sudden urge to start walking once more, but he decided that irritating her wasn't as rewarding as someone else's ire and went to avoid further confrontation.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good." When she looked suspicious, he smirked and waved a claw dismissively. "Kekeh, anything interesting for when the weather clears up?"

Giving him one last frown, she flipped through the letters once more and mumbled, "Um . . . well, here's one from an ariados: "My daughter's got a nose for trouble, and I'm afraid I can't keep up with her. Can you help me watch her so she doesn't cause a mess?" Sounds like _someone_ has family issues," she added with a snort.

"Sounds easy enough," he replied, flexing his claws as he restrained himself from going back to pacing. "Now, if only the weather would clear up . . ."

"Fat chance of _that_ happening soon." She explained when he frowned at her dubiously, "Castform sent a weather report out, and it seems there's some sort of typhoon brushing against the coast. That's where the storms have been coming from. It'll be a few days before it all calms down again, and then we'll be flooded with missions."

His frown grew larger at the startling news, realizing that this would leave him sitting at home for a long while before a rush of work forced him to be out from dawn to dusk . . . leaving no free time to bother Kitty. _Now _that's_ unacceptable._ He made his decision in a heartbeat and started towards the door, ignoring the lightning that flashed threateningly outside and the indignant stuttering from the pokemon behind him. Just as she asked what he was doing, he flashed a cheeky grin and told her casually, "I'll be out for a bit, so try not to strangle Ekans in his sleep or burn the base down while I'm gone."

"B-but–it's _raining!_"

"Kekeh, I'm sure you'd find a way to make damp wood burn."

"That's _not_ what I–hey, get back here!"

Her aggravated groan followed him outside, causing him to smirk mischievously before the freezing rain reminded him to become intangible so he could walk to Kitty's with ease. The thought of seeing her surprised expression caused him to quicken his pace, and he wrote off the grin on his face as anticipation for future groans and eye-rolling. With a real plan set in his mind, and the likelihood of seeing Kitty becoming more possible with every step, Gengar finally felt at peace.

* * *

**Theme**: At Peace

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	45. StirCrazy

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

**Trivia**: This chapter was originally titled "Multifaceted" because it looked pretty, but then I realized that "Stir-Crazy" would be a more accurate summary. And as of this update, I have forty-seven completed prompts. ...oh, dear.

* * *

_Stop thinking about him! You're a grown pokemon, not an empty-headed fangirl!_ Vines pounded at her skull as she gave a frustrated groan. _Don't dissolve into a bubbling pile of goo just because you can't see him. Just . . . stop . . . thinking about him!_

"Sakura? Are you okay?"

She started guiltily at the question and quickly tried to reassure her partner, at the same time wondering if she should tell her about the friendship she had developed with Charizard. _But then, she'll think I'm ditching her to hang out with him. Ohh . . ._ Struck by indecision, she just kept her mouth shut on the matter as she examined the concerned way her friend looked at her. _She's worried now. Say something to comfort her!_ She rushed to put together the right words and came up with, "I'm going stir-crazy just sitting here. It's only the second day, but . . . I can't help it!"

"Well, at least you came to visit me the night before the rain started," Kitty replied, giving a small laugh at their luck. "That means we don't have to spend the rain in total boredom!"

"Yeah," the venusaur replied, but then she was struck by a very selfish thought: That she would've rather spent this time with Team A.C.T., and Charizard. _No, no, no!_ She frantically pushed that thought away. _Don't think that! That's_ terrible! Horrified by the idea, she worked to forget about it and tried to engage her partner in an interesting conversation. "So, what missions do you want to do when it stops?"

Kitty frowned thoughtfully, unknowingly making her partner smile at her cute expression. "Hm . . . I dunno. How about Magma Cavern?" Glaring outside, she grumbled, "By now, I've had _my_ fair share of water, and it's bound to have evaporated there."

Sakura grinned at the umbreon's sour expression. "I know what you mean. Yeah, that sounds good." She puffed herself up arrogantly and joked, "I'm so awesome that I don't _need_ to worry about lava!" They both laughed and shook their heads, and then she paused when something came to mind. "You know, I wonder if Team Meanies gets a lot of missions. I mean, they aren't super popular, after . . . well, you know."

Her friend frowned, but it was gone in a moment as if she had shaken away the thought. "Nah, they probably don't actually _do_ anything." Huffing, she added quietly, "Since he always has so much time to bother me . . ."

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad anymore." Grinning, she lightly shoved her with a vine. "I mean, _I_ bother you every day, too! And he's mellowed out a lot. _And_ you two are friends now." At this, Kitty took on a pensive frown, and Sakura stopped in her prodding to consider something. _I bet it's still awkward, realizing that they can actually be called "friends." But . . . things aren't exactly different, are they?_ She mulled over it some more, comparing things before their friendship to after. _It doesn't really seem like much has changed. Maybe it's just the idea of putting a label on their relationship. Before, they were just pokemon that hung out, but now they call each other friends–and that's a big leap, considering what's happened in the past year._ Finally, she voiced her thoughts in hopes of clarifying things for the both of them. "Is it really all that different, now that you both agreed to be friends?"

She watched as Kitty bit her lip, examining the anxiety in the black fox's small frame with open curiosity. "Not really," she admitted quietly, scarlet eyes moving to stare out the window as she became lost in thought. _I'm not the only one wishing someone else was here,_ she realized with a smile, and she wondered if the umbreon had realized how much she really looked forward to Gengar's antics. _They were friends before they even agreed to it._

She then wondered if the ghost was aware of this, and the dynamics of the two's friendship was brought under the microscope as she started to dissect everything they did and said. Kitty was always eager to ask Gengar to brew tea; he was always happy to oblige. She didn't want to admit it, but she was glad to spend time with him–and he was _obviously_ glad to have time to bother her. He was always looking to get certain reactions out of her: Anger, yes, but also curiosity, happiness, surprise, and gratitude. And now, Kitty was anxious to hang out with him, just as Sakura was itching to talk to Charizard.

She staggered, pausing with a blink. _Wait . . . really?_ She examined her own emotions, and she was surprised to find they were similar to expressions on Kitty's face as she stared out of the window. _Eager to see him, anxious for the rain to stop, guilty for thinking about him when we're sitting together . . . wow. Has he really become _that_ good of a friend in such a short time?_ Then again, she wasn't one to talk, after befriending Charizard in what felt like months but was only about a week in reality. But, at the same time, it was easier to swallow _their_ friendship than the awkward horse pill of camaraderie between Kitty and Gengar, and that threw her for a loop. _Maybe there are some things she isn't telling me? Just like how I'm keeping quiet on my _own_ problems._ Her friend suddenly became multifaceted, and Sakura was confused by the different reflections she saw as if she was standing in a double team demonstration. Which one was the real Kitty?

Before she could try to determine anything, however, a sharp gasp caught her attention as her eyes refocused on the black fox standing rigid at the window, head nearly sticking out of it as the tips of her ears were grazed by the rain. She didn't even have a chance to ask about the noise as the dark-type shouted, "That _can't_ be him. No way! I've got cabin fever, too!"

_What's a "cabin?"_ "What're you talking about," Sakura asked as she stepped forward to catch a glimpse of what baffled her, but she stopped interrogating as her eyes widened in shock. "Oh, no way."

Kitty looked back at her, mirroring her incredulous expression. "You see him, too?"

"Yeah." Her voice was quiet in disbelief, and her heart clenched as she swallowed dryly. _He walked through a typhoon to bother her. That's . . . that's undeniably sweet._ As she watched the ghost step into the hut, shaking off imaginary rain for dramatic effect, she couldn't help the jealous turn her thoughts took thinking about Charizard. _Would he do that for me? Should he really have to? We're not the best of friends, but . . ._ No matter how much she tried to rationalize it, she couldn't rid herself of the envious tune that played in her heart.

Gengar's smirk grew wider at the fox's shocked expression. "Kekekeh. _Honey,_ I'm _home!_"

* * *

**Theme**: Heart Song

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	46. Complex

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

**Author's Note**: I apologize for not uploading five prompts like I said I would yesterday, but I actually couldn't. I only have this and the next chapter finished, so it was physically impossible for me to do so. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a while before I upload the remaining chapters.

* * *

"Finally! It stopped raining!" Kitty leapt into a puddle with a laugh, getting her paws wet but far from feeling down as she beamed at the sun. "God, it feels like we were stuck in there _forever!_"

"Well, five days is a long while when you're bored," her partner commented, and she sighed in relief at the feeling of sunlight on her skin. "Ooh, it _is_ nice. Can I sunbathe for a bit?"

"Hell, I was thinking of the same thing," the umbreon admitted with a sheepish grin, settling down beside Sakura as they enjoyed the return of daylight. The winds had died down to a polite breeze, and their eyelids drooped sleepily as they yawned in unison. It was a wonderful change of scenery, and as she glanced down at her reflection in a puddle she asked, "Do we have to work today? It's so nice out, I feel like it's a waste to go on missions."

Reluctantly, her friend gave her the truth. "Beautiful or not, there was a lot of rain and dangerous winds the past couple of days, and pokemon could be out there in trouble because of that. Remember the jumpluff?" She nudged Kitty when she groaned with a vine, teasing, "You were itching to do something before, and now you want to be lazy? Are you _ever_ satisfied?"

"Oh, shut up," the fox grumbled as she got to her feet with a huff. "Let's get to it, then. I'll grow sick of the sun soon enough, anyways."

"That's more like it!" Laughing heartily, the grass-type stretched a vine to collect envelops from the mailbox and sort out the different missions. "Oh, how convenient. Everything in the mailbox goes to Sinister Woods. Remember that place? We can send some of the others on missions from the billboard."

Kitty grinned, memories flooding back to her as she hummed in agreement. _That's where we found Metapod . . . and fought Team Meanies._ As they made their way to town at a leisurely pace, she couldn't help but recall the battle in the forest and wonder how things had changed so much between then and now. Back then, the kindest words she could say about Gengar and his lackeys was how conniving and opportunistic they were. _And now . . . Gengar's my friend. That doesn't seem possible, yet it happened. And it was _my_ choice, no less._ Her life just seemed to be full of surprises, and it didn't look like things were going to calm down any time soon. _As Shiftry said before, "the work of a rescuer is never done."_ And it wasn't just missions she had to worry about; being a hero of the world brought a lot of unneeded hassle to her life, such as the expectations she had previously tried to satisfy. With this sudden act against everyone's predictions, she had thrown herself into the spotlight for scrutiny–and so had Gengar, for accepting her tentative offer. _Then again, it's not like anyone's opinions can go any lower for him._

Or could they? As Sherlock had pointed out wisely, he seemed willing to let everyone see a devious façade as he tried to keep others from wanting to investigate him further. _It's like he's hiding something bigger than lying about the cause of the natural disasters._ The thought scared her out of her wits, but at the same time it fed the curiosity she was sure was going to get her into trouble one day. The secret was a big reason to befriend him–and with this concession, she suddenly felt shallow and quickly reassured herself that while it was a major reason, it wasn't the _main_ reason as others helped finalize the decision. Not only had he done away with his malicious exploits, but he had also gone from annoying Casanova to thoughtful jerk to teasingly flirty friend. So many changes in such little time . . . she was bound to want to know why they occurred, and why he let them happen. And he _was_ a friend, despite their past rivalry and his criminal record; he had done a lot for her without asking for anything back, something that still puzzled her. He tried to hide it behind arrogant smirks and smooth-talking, but in the end, she knew better than to believe everything he said.

_But that leaves me with little to go on._ She shook her head at the complexity of the issue, wondering whether she would ever be able to untangle this web of confusion. _I'm not as observant or wise as Sakura or Sherlock, so it'll be hard. I'll just have to tough it out and deal with his over-the-top cackling for a while._ Smiling to herself at the thought, she was distracted when her partner faltered as they crossed the bridge to town. "Hm?" She examined the grass-type's expression with curiosity, wondering what had made Sakura hesitate. "What?"

She got a visual answer when a sudden gust heralded the arrival of an orange dragon, and she was stunned by the windy entrance as her friend brightened in a way she hadn't seen before. "O-oh! Hi, Charizard!" A relieved smile eased its way onto her face, and she carefully started, "With all of the rain, I was afraid you'd gotten stuck in the typhoon or something."

He grinned confidently, waving a nonchalant claw to alleviate her fears. "Nah, we had missions far north, so we managed to escape the worst of it." Eyeing the huts around him with missing shingles and peeling paint, he added in a quieter tone, "But not you guys. Hanging in there?"

Sakura's rapid nod was all it took to encourage him, and he turned to welcome the rest of his team to engage in small talk with the girls. All the while, however, his gaze continuously sought out the grass-type's, and Kitty started to feel there was something both of them were hiding from her. One glance at Alakazam and Tyranitar revealed they weren't a part of this secret, for they talked amiably about the dangers they faced without once looking at her partner. _So it's just those two, huh?_ Her suspicions didn't settle when they parted with the gold rank team to continue down the path, but she was reluctant to ask about it in case she offended her friend. _I'd be accusing her of something before I even knew what it was, let alone had any proof._ She decided that, for now, she'd keep a close eye on the pair in hopes of finding her own answers.

As they were getting their things together at Kangaskhan's, a sudden brush on her shoulder caused Kitty to squeak in surprise as Blade made his presence known. "On a mission?" was his simple question, and when she nodded mutely he returned the gesture before offering to carry her bag for her. Glaring at Sakura when she started to snicker, the umbreon scoffed before relinquishing the pack reluctantly, and she frowned when he began to lead the way out of town without another word. _What's _his_ problem? _She paused and rolled her eyes at herself._ "What's _always_ his problem" might be a better question to ask._ As she went to follow him and Sakura, however, another important inquiry presented itself in her mind that caused her frown to deepen. _How can I think to even attempt solving Gengar when I don't understand the friends I have already?_

* * *

**Theme**: Reflection

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	47. Mistake

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

She knew it had to happen eventually, but she had held onto the minuscule hope that he would at least wait until after the mission was over. Apparently, though, the matter was too important for him to have patience.

"Friends with Gengar?"

Kitty jumped at the unexpected question, and despite herself she glanced over to examine his deceivingly-serene expression as they journeyed through the dark forest. _If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was just curious._ Heaving a mental sigh as she realized she couldn't put off the confrontation for any longer, she decided to do what she had always done: Blaze ahead without any regrets. "To put it in laymen's terms, yeah. I'm surprised you just now heard of it." _The storms probably delayed the news a bit, but I could've _sworn_ an absol like him would be two steps ahead of this disaster._

He seemed determined not to look at her, for he glanced over his opposite shoulder to make sure the escort and Sakura were far enough behind them not to overhear when he whispered, "And you think this is wise . . . ?"

"What I think doesn't matter," she huffed, "if you're just going to disagree with me anyway. You wouldn't let me say "good morning" to him if it was the last thing he'd ever hear!"

After a moment's pause, where the sound of dry twigs crunching underfoot echoed unnaturally loud in her ears, he argued, "Actually, if it _was _the last thing he'd ever hear, I'd wholeheartedly let you say whatever you wanted."

She scowled. _That was surprisingly childish._ "As long as he died a horrible death?"

"You're not psychic-type, are you?"

If she had had hands to throw up into the air, she would've also punched his shoulder indignantly. "I think you're _dumbass_-type if you really think this'll change anything. I'm still going on missions, you're still my teammate–can't we all just get along?" She was frustrated with their ridiculous feud, ignoring the fact that she had once been a part of it, and wanted desperately for both of them to grow up. "This is starting to get incredibly stupid."

She started when he turned an icy glare on her, and his voice took to a low growl as he grumbled, "_You're_ the dumb one if you can't see what he's up to. He's _using_ you, Kitsune. He hasn't changed." Giving their partner another glance, he continued, "Why do you think he's been so "courteous" to you? He just wants your reputation to rub off on him, to clear the stench that's settled over his name. He's a fraud."

She took a deep breath to clear her mind of the reckless anger that always got her into trouble, trying to find some way to explain things to him without completely giving up everything. "Blade, I know you two have your problems, but leave me out of it. Yes, he's been an absolute jerk, but because of that, no one's going to believe him either way. What would it hurt now to give a little kindness? He couldn't _possibly_ hurt anyone." His maroon gaze turned solemn, and she was puzzled by the troubled look he gave her. "What?"

"There's still one pokemon he can hurt."

". . . I don't understand."

He scowled, and his patronizing tone irritated her greatly. "Really, Kitsune. The pokemon he's harassed since day one? The pokemon he's framed? The pokemon he loves to push and prod relentlessly?" When her confusion didn't dissipate, he hissed through gritted teeth, "_You._"

"I _got_ that. I just don't get how . . ."

He faltered, looking about ready to yell at her, but the two pokemon behind them prevented him from doing so without an audience. "All he needs to do is get close, Kitsune. He just needs to be polite until he can stab you in the back, figuratively or literally." She drew back incredulously, but he didn't move to reassure her. "It could come in the form of a curse attack or a simple word, but either could be effective in hurting you."

"I can't believe you don't think I have tough skin," she scolded, ignoring his signal to quiet down. "Do you really think that any mean thing he says can hurt me? I mean, _you_ tease me a lot, and you don't see me crying over _that!_"

"Completely different."

She wanted to throttle him. "Why're you so stubborn, Blade? He's changed a _lot_ over the past few months–"

"Changed _tactics,_ perhaps–"

"He's _helped_ me before–"

"Simply means to an end–"

She groaned, tempted to shadow ball him in the face if he interrupted her one more time. "Why won't you just _listen_ to me?"

"You don't know what he's up to."

She laughed sarcastically. "And _you do,_ Mr. I'm-Suddenly-Psychic-Type?"

"I can't believe you've suddenly forgotten all that he's done in the past–"

Finally fed up, she shouted at him, "Nobody's perfect, Blade!"

The silence that fell over the group was sudden and swift, and the dark-types were aware of the concerned glances they received as they glared at each other stubbornly. Even as Sakura moved to try to quell the fighting, the absol gave his final word on the matter: "You're making a mistake, Kitsune."

With her chin held high, she replied, "And it's my mistake to make."

* * *

**Theme**: Perfection

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	48. Took Off

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

To say that she was angry was the understatement of the century, and everyone noticed this when Kitty returned to town with a furious fire in her stride. Sakura had stopped trying to keep up with her on the way back, and Blade had departed as soon as the mission was over, so she was left unescorted for a while as she roughly dropped her bag in front of Kangaskhan's hut. The normal-type looked down at her in concern, and she placed an elbow on the counter as she rested her chin in her palm, clucking her tongue in disappointment. "What happened, dearie? You seem so upset." Her expression welcomed the umbreon to dump all of her worries into a clumsy heap before her, and after a moment's hesitation, she gave in.

"I should be able to make my own decisions, right? I'm old enough to decide what I want to do and who I want to hang out with, right?" She didn't even wait for an affirmative nod as she ranted, "Then why doesn't Blade think I can handle myself, after all of the things I've been through? I've traveled across the land, rescued hundreds of people, and fought legendary pokemon! He acts like I'm just a little kid, but I–_ugh!_" She smacked her head into the side of the counter and immediately regretted the action as her forehead began to throb. "Is it just because I'm small? I should've been reborn as a wailord."

"Oh, but then you wouldn't fit in your house," Kangaskhan teased as she stroked her child's ears, smiling when the baby yawned sleepily and snuggled further into her pouch. She asked quietly, "Is this about Gengar, dear?"

Kitty stiffened, scowling at the mental image of Blade scorning the ghost. "_No._ Well, not _directly,_ but–not really." She sighed when she started to confuse herself and sat on her haunches to try to make sense of it all. "I just . . . I don't like it when people try to tell me what's best for me, or that I'm wrong in thinking this way."

The normal-type hummed sympathetically. "Most pokemon don't, but they're quick to pass judgment onto others despite this." Petting her child's head, she muttered softly, "It takes a little bit of thinking to realize there really isn't a right way of doing things." As she let the black fox mull over this bit of wisdom, she silently leaned over and grabbed a wooden bowl that sat precariously on the edge to move it to the counter before her. She poured water from a pitcher underneath the counter and placed some dried leaves into it, and after she cooled it with a careful ice beam she pushed it closer to Kitty. "Here's something to cool you off, dearie."

The umbreon stood on her hind legs and steadied herself on the counter, aware that Kangaskhan wasn't able to lean down with the child in her pouch, and she let the soothing liquid do its job as she surveyed the quiet town around her. The day was winding down with the sun's descent, and the shopkeepers were sitting back as the lull of customers gave them a chance to relax. Kitty wondered if she was the only one having a bad day, and she was mildly jealous of the others' leisurely demeanors. _They never really have problems, do they? Lucky them._ She lapped up the remainder of the tea and licked her lips, muttering a quiet "thank you" as the normal-type set the bowl aside before sighing and flopping heavily onto her haunches. "I really don't want to be angry at him, but he's just so . . . ignorant of my thoughts. I know he means well, but . . ."

Kangaskhan leaned back with a hum and rested her arms on the curve of her belly, just above the pouch her child slept in. "He's just worried about you, dear. I know it's hard, but you have to be thankful that he cares that much about you." Eyes shining, she added quietly, "He doesn't want to see you get hurt." After letting her words sink in, a thought occurred to her that made her cock her head and ask, "Did anyone tell you what he did when you disappeared?"

When Kitty's ears perked up curiously, the parent smiled softly and recounted the events directly after her departure."Well, he came running just after you became specks of light, asking where you were. After they explained what happened, he was devastated. He tried calling out for you, telling you to "come back immediately," and when you didn't he took off running for the mountains." She gave a heavy sigh, adding mostly to herself, "If I didn't know any better, I would've thought he was trying to catch you on your way home."

The dark-type remained silent after the description, eyes drifting down to examine her paws as she envisioned Blade racing up rocky terrain to intercept her spirit on the summit. She had had his support for what felt like an eternity now, only outdone by Sakura's companionship since the beginning, and she softened slightly as she reminisced over some of the good times they had had together. They had climbed Mt. Freeze together to meet Ninetales, and he had tried to defend her when Alakazam's team confronted them at the peak. In the same breath, he had praised her fighting abilities and teased her for her size. He was with her and Sakura when they went to save Team A.C.T. from Groudon's wrath and stop the earthquakes once and for all, and he had taken quite a few burns to protect her from getting scorched. As she took all of this into account, her heart plummeted as she realized how unappreciative she had seemed when she criticized Blade for his suspicion of Gengar. _He's always looked out for me, but I've only yelled at him and told him to mind his own business._ Before, she had felt a fiery anger towards him and his controlling ways; now that she had had time and advice to think over it again, she felt the cold waters of regret wash over her.

Kangaskhan saw her grief and quickly moved to eliminate it. "Now, dear," she started, "he _does_ have a sweet side to him that wants to look out for you. _But,_ just as you shouldn't be angry at him for trying to help, you shouldn't let him control your life. He may give you _suggestions_ . . . but you should do as _you_ please–not what would please others." Not giving her a moment to feel sad, she pushed another bowl of tea closer to the edge, this time after carefully spraying it with flames until steam rose like smoke. "This is one of Gengar's favorite blends," she added, smiling at the interested look Kitty gave before she tried it.

The umbreon appreciated Kangaskhan's wise words and refreshments, and after she had finished the bowl she gave her thanks with a wide, grateful smile. _And Gengar, for giving her the recipe for the tea he made the day we agreed to be friends._ When she sat back on her haunches and stared at the sun halfway to the horizon, she realized with a start that she was actually feeling lighthearted after the talk she had had with the normal-type. _Leave it to a worried mother to make everything better again._ The ritual of drinking tea was calming, and she thanked God for the magical healing properties of daily routines. Smiling softly, she watched the storeroom owner return the bowl and water pitcher to their proper places before a sudden question came to mind. "Hey, Kangaskhan? Why do you have supplies for tea lying around?" _I thought only Gengar knew how to make tea . . ._

"Oh." The older pokemon hummed thoughtfully, turning a curious eye to Kitty as she explained, "Well, dear, Gengar came by earlier and told me to have things ready for you when you came back." When that only raised further questions, she continued, "You see, his team had a heavy load of missions after the typhoon came through, so they're going to be out working for a while. I'm glad he still has jobs after all that's happened, but I'm going to miss him."

* * *

**Theme**: Everyday Magic

_Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	49. Decisions

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

**Trivia**: Is anyone else curious as to the lack of activity in dungeons in this story? I seem to make the enemy pokemon magically disappear when it's most convenient for plot development . . . eheh. (Also, my excuse for Sherlock knowing about umbrellas–definitely a man-made tool–is that Kitty rambles a lot when she's bored.)

* * *

The ghost-type casually placed his claws behind his head as they walked deeper into the forest, eyes focused on the sky partially hidden by the treetops. Beside him and his teammates, a rather worried looking spider (who had a rather fitting nickname that Gengar was unaware of) was carefully scurrying over debris on the forest floor, searching desperately for his daughter. The weather was very fickle in Uproar Forest, and he didn't want to search in the pitch blackness of the night beneath an onslaught of hail or sand. As Sherlock's eyes swept across the area, Gengar took it upon himself to start a conversation, not only to relieve his boredom but to get the guy to stop being so anxious. _It's starting to bother me._

He brainstormed for a topic before carefully asking something that had been bothering him for a while now. "So. Your daughter . . . is Heracross?" He was always amazed at the weird couples he found across the land, and this was one of the more interesting examples (other than one that was grossly unbalanced–he'd never look at skitty the same again). The way Ekans swiveled his head around to stare at them with interest showed that he wasn't the only one curious about their client, and he was sure that Medicham was listening even as she pretended to be uninterested by examining their surroundings.

He nodded his head, pincers clacking together as if taking in imaginary food. Gengar mentally grimaced at the thought of Sherlock's dinner, and he quickly diffused that train of thought by listening to the spider's response. "She's the sweetest little girl; the cutest one you'll ever see." He sighed heavily, adding quietly, "She's also the most adventurous tyke on this side of the world . . . took off in the rain with a giant leaf as an umbrella, and only came back after we had searched for two hours in a panic, soaked through her exoskeleton."

Gengar grinned at the exasperated expression on his customer's face, mildly reminded of the looks Kitty would give him for being especially annoying. "Kekeh, I don't doubt it. Sounds like she's a handful."

Sherlock nodded, and then his voice was tinged with a fatherly warmth as he went on, "But, with all of her faults, she's still my wonderful daughter. I'd bring down the heavens if it meant making her smile."

The leader of Team Meanies refrained from rolling his eyes at the romantic idea, but Medicham was far less courteous as she gave a rather loud snort. The father simply gave a spidery smile before focusing on the path ahead of them, and with this the ghost decided to continue the exchange because he was still bored. "With this kind of "adventuring spirit," she'd make a great rescuer. Kekeh, lots of energy to burn, a habit of getting into trouble . . ." A certain umbreon came to mind, and a sly grin crept onto his face as he commented, "Reminds me of a rescuer I know."

The grin was mirrored (albeit with less mischief, and because of his pincers it was more of a twinkle in his eyes than anything), and Sherlock replied pleasantly, "Same here. Reminds me of the valiant young pokemon who normally assists me in finding my daughter." He motioned with one of his spindly legs without slowing, a feat that was slightly disturbing when anyone watched how effortless it seemed. "You know, the leader of Team Foxfire?" He didn't seem to notice the shocked expression on his companions' faces, instead eyeing a log before scrambling over it and continuing on the journey through Uproar Forest.

_He _obviously_ doesn't know who he's talking to._ Suddenly, he realized that he didn't want the bug-type to know his entire history with Kitty, because there were less than pleasant parts to it that could spoil the payment they received at the end of the mission. He gave the other two a meaningful look to communicate this message, and they wisely kept their mouths shut as he waved a claw nonchalantly to appear as if he vaguely knew about her. "Yeah, she seems to have a knack for getting into messes." He then asked, "You mean she has the time to do normal missions like this? I would've thought she'd have something like–I don't know, fighting off raging gyarados or something. This seems . . ."

"Trivial, in comparison?" When he didn't answer, Sherlock hummed thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought about it, but she's never turned down my request, although I'm sure she has much more pressing matters to attend to. A team as high in ranking as hers has more important jobs to do than search for an old fool's daring little girl, there is no doubt." His tone could best be described as a verbal frown of contemplation. "I actually felt guilty for bothering her so often, and so I requested help from you instead. Not to say you aren't capable of doing the task, but–" He chuckled quietly, admitting, "Well, I guess I miss her company. She was quite a nice girl, always full of conversation and shy to ask for advice."

Gengar gave a noncommittal hum, mulling over this new information in his mind before decided to learn as much as he could from this pokemon. "What, did she share her deepest, darkest secrets?" _Did she talk about her troubles as a hero? Her memories from back home? Me?_ He was itching to find out, but he wasn't sure if the old man would tell him what he wanted to know.

Sherlock made a sound similar to a snort. "If by "deepest and darkest," you mean "silly yet still pertinent to the present," then yes. She seems to be unsure of what she means to her friends most of the time. Either she feels like a burden, or she's horribly annoyed, or she's so confused she can't tell heads from tails." Shaking his head, he said half to himself, "Despite her heroic exploits, she's still a normal pokemon like the rest of us: Worried about things that could easily be solved by simply _asking._"

A strange silence fell amongst the group, and Gengar glanced over at his teammates to find they were avoiding his gaze for some reason. Medicham began to whistle, and the serpent seemed to be rather interested in the pebbles he slithered over. Crossing his arms, their leader put on a pensive frown as he shifted through all that the spider had said. Apparently, he knew Kitty well enough to give her advice, and she had asked for advice on matters concerning her "friends." _I'd bet my entire savings that I was one of the friends she needed advice on._ He felt mildly smug that he had caused her such confusion and exasperation, but he was more concerned with what exactly had been said about him. _I wouldn't be surprised, but has she talked bad about me?_

Then, Sherlock lifted the silence with a soft sigh. "I'm sorry, but sometimes I find that the young hesitate for things they really shouldn't. _Especially_ when they have so much to live for." His nostalgic expression spoke volumes, hinting that he had his own hesitations to regret now in his old age.

"Right." Gengar avoided getting a "youth wasted on the young" speech by diving into yet another topic. "I never thought the "hero of the world" would have people problems."

"Ah," the spider replied, "not many would. But, she's just as uncertain of life as we all are, and she has the same misgivings about pokemon's thoughts of her as well."

He raised an eyebrow at that, asking dubiously, "She cares what others think of her?" _The last I remember, she told me that she didn't care what people thought and should be given a bit of leeway for her heroic exploits._

If ariados could blink, Sherlock would have blinked rapidly in confusion. "But of course. She's constantly in the spotlight, after all, and has to make sure she doesn't make a mess of things. It would be like making the wrong move in battle: Everyone would know about it, and she'd never be able to take it back." He let him mull over it for a moment before going on, "But, she has the bravery to make decisions that wouldn't be widely accepted, I'm sure, if it was for the greater good. Going after Groudon is an example of that, after being told that her team wasn't strong enough to tackle the challenge underground." He chuckled at the memory, eyes glazing over as if he was recalling what he was doing when the news came to him. "Team Foxfire certainly proved themselves then."

Unfortunately, those words weren't exactly reassuring for Gengar, as he thought of their tentative friendship and the defiant flare that had been in her eyes that night. _She said we were friends no matter what the others said, but would she be able to withstand ridicule?_ He didn't want all of his work to go to nothing because she couldn't stand a little peer pressure, and he was agitated that he was the confused and uncertain one this time. He opened his mouth, and then hesitated as he eyed his teammates, not wanting them to get the wrong idea. He sought for neutral words, and he finally asked with an attitude of mild curiosity, "Do you think she'd make a decision others wouldn't like just because she felt like it? Like, an extended vacation?"

Sherlock glanced over at him musingly, his pincers clacking together with his silent thoughts as years of wisdom seemed to flow through his fragile frame. The spider took his question into serious consideration, something that gained him a bit of respect as the ghost waited almost patiently for an answer. Finally, after several strides across decaying leaves and dry twigs, he nodded as if to agree with his own answer and gave it life. "I think that, although she would rather be liked by others, if it was for the good of her, she would do it, but . . ." His gaze slid over to his bodyguard as he added with meaning, "If it was for her own good, _and another's_ . . . she would do it with no hesitation."

Gengar felt a distinct sense of déjà vu, remembering the instance where Kangaskhan had seemed to see right through his facade and pry open his chest of secrets with ease, and he wondered if he would ever be truly safe from such keen individuals. _Does every parent have the ability to read minds?_ He shivered even though he was intangible, and he was perturbed when the spider chuckled as if he had just told a rather funny joke. _I don't find it funny at all, you mind reader. I didn't think you could learn that move._ He was beginning to strongly dislike the adults of this world and wondered whether he could get his money back before remembering he hadn't paid a cent. _I've only paid in karmic retribution, for which there are no refunds._ He felt rather ripped off by this fact.

He was pulled out of his musings when Ekans stated casually, "I believe I've caught her scent trail." His forked tongue slipped in and out of his scaly lips, and he was quickly under the scrutiny of the worried father as he started to give directions to the wandering bug-type. Right before they went around an impressively massive trunk, he gave an amused hissing laugh before gesturing with his tail. "She's helping herself to sap. How boring."

"Heracross!" Much to their disgusted fascination, Sherlock used his spider legs to crawl up and around the side of the tree, and they heard his fevered scolding and excited fussing as they waited impatiently for him to come back. "Oh, if I have to make a leash for you, I'll do so! Your mother and I were so worried, we thought . . ." If he wasn't so annoyed with both of the bug-types, Gengar would've found it slightly touching. He crossed his arms sourly as his foot began to tap with irritation, a growl building in the back of his throat. _Come on, grandpa, we don't have all day._ He held no sympathy for a man–spider–who could scurry as fast as a rattata yet went along at the speed of a torkoal.

Medicham gave a hum that echoed his sentiments, and she put her hands on her hips as she shouted up to them, "Are you waiting for the tree to grow a bit taller, or are we going to get going before a sandstorm whips up?" As if it had waited for the cue, bits of sand flew and stuck to her face, and she grimaced in preparation before scowling as the father-daughter duo finally made their way back down, with the small beetle clinging to her father's back with hooked claws and wide eyes. "_Finally._" She ignored the disapproving look Ekans gave her as she spun on her heels and started going back the way they came, muttering darkly to herself and looking as if she needed pockets to moodily shove her hands into. They soon followed her, all at least mildly irritated except for the sticky-mouthed child's bouncy giggling, eyes watching the rattle on the snake's wiggling tail as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

* * *

**Theme**: Umbrella

_Lots of dragon-y love,  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	50. Team

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

**Trivia**: Inserted a little bit of (tweaked) lyrics in here. Teehee. It's not important, but it was certainly fun! (Also, one of these scenes was inspired by a picture I drew for this story. Here is the link, but if it doesn't work even after you remove the spaces you can simply ask for my DeviantArt account and search for it there: http : / shadowpawmfur. deviantart. com/ art/ 50- Team- 191589143) Also, I used this theme very loosely. It's more of an idea sort of thing than just sticking the word in somewhere.

* * *

Kitty took a deep breath before she broke the silence with an unnecessary question.

"What're you doing here?"

She was mildly satisfied by Gengar's subtle start, glad to have for once caught _him_ off guard as he turned to face her on the roof of her base. It had been nearly a week since they had last talked, so a little awkwardness was to be expected. They stood tête-à-tête as the moonlight cast its cold glow upon the world, their red gazes locked as each considered their own thoughts, and neither made a move to suspend the quiet again. Only the nocturnal insects were so bold as the nighttime music floated above their heads like heavy clouds. Kitty had wanted to question him immediately, concerning their friendship and other things, but she felt his serious aura and realized he may have questions of his own. She was hesitant to state her thoughts first, and so she prepared herself as she waited for him to take a breath and answer her. When he did so, she tensed slightly. _Let the interrogation begin._

"Oh, I just climb onto roofs whenever I get the urge." The humor in his voice was muted, as if he found it irrelevant even as it slipped out as a force of habit. "Didn't know this one was yours."

She rolled her eyes at his obvious teasing, relaxing slightly at the response she should have expected and wondering if it was killing him to be serious. _Well, if he could die twice._ "Right. Because I'm not the only one with a house the shape of an eevee's head." She gave a soft huff of half-false irritation and was mildly pleased when his mouth quirked into a smug grin, but the feeling quickly evaporated as she sat on her haunches and asked, "So, what do you _really_ want? Other than to bother me, of course."

He looked annoyed by her inquiry, and he crossed his arms and snorted in irritation. "Well, if you don't _want_ my company anymore, you could simply _tell_ me." His agitated demeanor made her blink in surprise, and she paused in the routine motions of a friendly argument to wonder what was really bothering him so much. _He doesn't even look like he's kidding._ It was almost frightening, and she furrowed her eyebrows at his strange behavior, hoping against all hope that nothing was wrong.

"Gengar, are you okay? You seem, I don't know, uptight." She watched his expression morph into quiet shock, as if he hadn't realized he was emulating his inner thoughts, before settling into indifference. "Did something happen today? How'd the mission go?" Strangely enough, it wasn't odd to be concerned about him anymore, especially after all of the things he had done for her and the times he had inquired about her own health. She couldn't find the energy to wonder about it as she focused on his stiff posture, wishing that Sakura's observational skills had rubbed off on her.

The corners of his mouth twitched, looking tempted to fall into a weary scowl, as if he hadn't enjoyed his day at all. "It was fine." His tone contradicted his words, but the look on his face told her to just leave it alone.

She frowned, slightly concerned now. "Okay . . . well, if you just wanted to, er, hang out . . ." She struggled to find the right thing to say, but nothing that she thought of seemed to be it, and she floundered for several heartbeats before throwing her proverbial hands in the air and mumbling, "I wasn't saying I _didn't_ want to. You just look . . ." Her sentence trailed off uncertainly, cautious to assume anything in case it annoyed him further.

He seemed to finally realize how awkward the situation was, for he inhaled a calming breath of cool air before taking a seat at the edge of the roof, glancing over his shoulder expectantly at her. She took the hint and padded over quietly, eyeing his neutral expression as he stared ahead at the dark, tree-filled horizon. _Stop being serious, Gengar,_ she wanted to tell him, but she wasn't sure how he'd take that. _Give me a grin that seems physically impossible or something. Kekekeh?_ She was wondering when to broach the subject of their friendship when he seemed to find the words he wanted and started talking.

"Kitty, do you regret your decisions?"

Immediately, the thought of _home_ and _Mom_ and _Dad_ came unbidden at the word "regret," and she rose up to squash those disobedient thoughts even as she tried to find a way to answer him properly. She blinked slowly and licked her lips, and she finally ventured, "You mean, like the one to come back to this world?" The gears in her head clicked sluggishly into place, and it was then that she realized the topic she had wanted to bring up had already arrived, catching her off-guard. _He means my decision to be friends._ "Well . . . "regret" might not be the right word." Biting her lip, she searched for the phrase that would properly explain how she felt, eventually settling on, " "Wishing it wasn't so hard to make" would be a better way of putting it."

He didn't move to question her further, and with a start she realized that he was waiting for her to elaborate. _Well._ "I wish it was so much simpler to decide which I'd prefer, instead of agonizing over it needlessly. Either option was going to bring heartache, so . . . there was no way of completely winning, I guess." She thought back down the long road she had traveled to get to who she was today, filled with difficult decisions and hardships, and she was surprised to find that she was almost a stranger to herself. Other than her new form, she was completely different from the slightly ditzy and oblivious girl she was back in her own world. She would never have thought that the blonde who was barely passing Geometry would have been capable of saving the world, let alone as a small and adorably fluffy brown fox that had the intimidating presence of a rabbit with only three paws. _And a top hat._ Because everything seemed less threatening with a top hat. She didn't doubt that countless scary pokemon she had fought in her travels would've been less menacing if they were wearing one.

"What about," he spoke up suddenly, bringing her away from her increasingly silly reflections, "other tough choices? Is it the same for them?"

Translation: "Is it really so bad, being my friend?"

She desperately didn't want to talk about her and Gengar specifically, now that he was interrogating _her_ about it and making her uncomfortable, but she supposed that it would answer her own questions in the long-run. Taking a deep breath, she persevered. "I'd be lying if I said I don't sometimes wish they had gone differently, but in the end I try not to worry about what might've happened. Nothing comes from wanting, and it just makes me feel insecure." _And so very, very small,_ she added to herself, remembering the nights she had curled up on her bed in the room below her, trying not to think of how insignificant she seemed in the changing faces of hardship she saw everyday.

He nodded, taking her words into consideration before showing he wasn't finished by delving into the very heart of the matter. "And, if others were to try to change your mind on something, would you?" His eyes slid over to her in anticipation, and she grew uneasy under his gaze as she tried to ignore how restless he appeared; his claws clacked on the roof as if he had somewhere to be, and the many muscles in his face seemed to twinge as thoughts were no doubt racing through his head now. There was so much riding on this, so much that she didn't understand, and she desperately wanted but was too afraid to open her mouth and tear the answers from him. She didn't know why he was like this, didn't know what had caused this strange display of insecurity that was just too out-of-character for him, and she hoped with a painful _twang_ of her heartstrings that he wasn't falling apart in front of her.

Immediately, she admonished herself for thinking such a ridiculous thing, knowing that he wasn't an emotional wreck like she normally was. _He has better control over himself, you idiot. He can at least hide behind an arrogant smirk._ This had the unfortunately infuriating side effect of making her pity him for split-second, and she quickly shook this and her other distracting thoughts away as she brought her wandering mind, like a stubborn dog on a leash, back to its original point: Answering Gengar's question. Right. She could do that.

Wetting her lips again as if that would make it easier for the words to slip out, Kitty decided to, as always, go with her gut instinct. It had pulled her through on several occasions, barely, so she felt secure in the assumption that it would do the same here. She scarcely thought about what she was going to say, as Kangaskhan had spoken along the same lines nearly a week ago. "If I let everyone make up my mind for me, in fear of upsetting them," she told him, levelly returning his stare, "then I'd eventually run out of things that make _me_ happy."

Translation: "I'm _happy_ that we're friends."

It seemed that, once again, her impulses had saved her from making her life complicated–or did it complicate things further?–because his eyes widened a fraction as if she had just imparted upon him a piece of great wisdom that he had been trying to ignore. He looked to be shell-shocked by her answer, and it was after a long and silent moment that she realized with surprise that he looked as if he had heard his own thoughts echoed in her words. She paused when she came to that conclusion, wondering when she had become so insightful to guess things like that and whether Sakura had indeed rubbed off on her. _Or maybe he's just been around me too much._ That was more likely, now that she thought about it, and yet it was slightly more disturbing as she began to consider how much attention she put to his features and expressions. _I don't stare at him excessively, do I?_

She was thwarted in her attempt at psychoanalyzing herself by his sudden laugh, and she jolted back to reality as she watched his trademark grin reassert its position on his face; it was almost like seeing an old friend for the first time in a long time, and she almost smiled back as she realized she had missed it. He returned his gaze to the distant horizon and continued to laugh, his familiar "kekekeh" causing a strangely triumphant feeling to bubble forth from some pit deep in her stomach that she didn't know existed until then. As she mentally shoveled the unsettling emotions back into this new well, she let herself bask in his entertainment, not even caring that he was probably laughing at her and her craziness. It was enough to know that he was happy again.

Translation: "Kekeh, I'm glad we're friends, too!"

* * *

At that very moment, Blade was slinking through Pokemon Square like an alley cat, giving the shadows a cursory glance before focusing on the path ahead of him. He had just crept through the bushes around Gengar's base, but he had been aggravated when it turned out the ghost wasn't there. That left only one other place he could be hiding: Team Foxfire's base. The dark-type gritted his teeth at the thought and picked up the pace, stepping lightly on the moonlit gravel as he tried to refrain from waking any of the shopkeepers. He didn't want to explain anything to them; he didn't feel like they needed to know about his mission to protect Kitty. _They'll only ask more questions, or even worse, try to help._

He had been more than just angry by Kitty's defiance; he was absolutely furious. Had Gengar already started to poison her with trickery, acting as her friend and reeling her in to her inevitable heartbreak? He could only imagine what would happen if he let this continue on to the end. _No matter what, I must avoid her getting any closer to him._ He wasn't entirely sure how to go about protecting her from the ghost, but he was sure plenty of opportunities would appear to him. _I'll just have to make her so busy with work that she can't possibly hang out with him._ That seemed like a good place to start.

Just before passing the kecleon brothers' store, he caught sight of a pale figure walking calmly towards him from the bridge to the west of town. Unable to hide now, he held his head high and narrowed his eyes to glare at the fighter that allied herself with his enemy, trying to convey without words how much he hated her. Medicham didn't even smile arrogantly at him, something that unnerved him as they approached each other. Had she seen something at Kitty's base that disturbed her, changing her into this sour character? His gait grew faster still, and he noticed her eyebrows furrow ever so slightly as the distance between them shrank at an alarming rate. All at once, they were in front of each other–beside each other, her swinging arm stirring the air to ripple through his fur–and now they were walking behind each other, never looking back as they returned to their respective sides of the war they had set up.

He wasn't naïve enough, as was already decided, to think that she would team up with him if he simply asked for her assistance. Their opinions differed too much to even have a glimmer of hope for an alliance; while he thought of her leader as vile scum, she thought of his as groundlessly respected. They couldn't work for the same goal if they were of such opposite mindsets, even if their anger burned low and hot in the pits of their bellies. Their brief exchange at the west part of Pokemon Square had been silent, but their thoughts were as clear as if they had shouted to each other: They would never give in until someone emerged victorious.

Either Gengar left Kitty alone . . . or someone was going to get hurt.

* * *

Gengar was quite pleased to say that, despite hanging out with her for the last two months, he hadn't learned enough about Kitty to understand her completely. At the best of times, she was slightly mind-boggling; at the worst, she gave him a headache. Her reasoning was so alien to him that it often didn't sound all that reasonable, and yet it was the kind of logic that seemed to drive heroes like her forward in the world. Without it, she just wouldn't be Kitty, and he found that he would be exponentially bored if that were the case. She was just too interesting for him to want her to change, and so he found it much more fitting for him to change instead.

It was almost like his own perverse brand of evolving, really; he became almost an entirely new Gengar, and it had taken everyone–including himself–some time to get used him. Now that he was different, he found that this version was an upgrade of the old Gengar, a definite step up the ladder of improvement, and he couldn't see why he hadn't thought of it before. Back then, he had been malicious, spiteful, full of opportunities to interfere with the lives of others, but he had too many flaws for his strengths to support the weight of them all. While he had fun tormenting the others, it was a harsh existence when everyone looked at him with narrowed eyes and wouldn't turn their backs to him without someone else nearby. He wasn't trusted after his lies were discovered, and all of the fun had come to an end.

Now, though, he had even more opportunities than ever, but instead of chances to ruin someone's life, they had mellowed out into chances to annoy and irritate people. While it wasn't nearly as intense as his previously devious plans, it was oddly much more rewarding to get them to sigh in exasperation than to scowl in disgust and hatred. (_Plus,_ he thought with a growing smirk, _it means she's more likely to keep me around for longer._) Except for a few pokemon, most just rolled their eyes when his team came around the corner, instead of the glares and scowls that had caused him to start avoiding the town like a dungeon full of psychic-types. Although he would like to think that it was his "charisma and charm" that brought about this change, he knew it was the fact that Kitty had hung out with him–and confirmed their friendship. _Which took a lot of guts, in front of _this _mob._ He had respect for her, and, surprisingly, she respected him. It was an interesting dynamic he hadn't considered until recently.

As a former villain, he should have been bothered by this mutual exchange of deference, as he once believed he was above everyone in this world. There wasn't a pokemon that could compare to him, he had thought, with his cunning plans and loyal henchmen. _But,_ he thought ironically, _maybe that's why she seems even better than me. She's not really a pokemon–she's still a human, inside. I can't really count her as a part of this world, can I?_ It was with this sudden realization of her influence on the pokemon around her that had originally caused him to follow her around after that fateful day when he scavenged through her mailbox.

He knew back then that she had been new to town; he hadn't seen a pokemon like her before (although he knew what she was), and the base she started occupying was empty before she came to town. Even though she had just gotten there, though, she was already great friends with Sakura (previously Bulbasaur) and Caterpie (and his mother). She soon started making a name for herself and her team with several successful missions, and that's when he had realized that she was a threat. _Little did I know how much of a threat she was–and how _confusing _she was. _She openly defied him and his team, even when outnumbered; she stuck up for pokemon that didn't deserve it (Shiftry in the beginning, all the way up to Gengar against her own teammate). Once she decided what she felt was right, she stuck to it no matter what anyone else said. (Sherlock's retelling of the Groudon incident came to mind immediately.)

It was these strange traits and more that had increased both his interest in her and disgust towards her, and the boiling point of these conflicting ideas came about during her exile. She had managed to elude all but Team A.C.T. during that chase, running and climbing throughout the country until she had reached Ninetales and could clear her name. He was almost impressed by her fortitude, except then _he_ was the one everyone was after, leaving him little time to think about anything other than avoiding the others. He became a creature of the night–like he was supposed to be–for quite a while.

Shaking his head when a sound brought him back from his thoughts, Gengar focused his eyes on the path ahead on his way back to his base. He returned to his original mental point when he realized how much of a tangent he had went on. _Kitty was too interesting to try to change, so I chose to change instead._ It had started involuntarily at first, beginning with the events right after her fight with Rayquaza. His malicious intent had suddenly evaporated when he saw her just lying there in the netherworld, looking broken and disheveled. Taking the full brunt of the hyper beam's explosive energy was a crazy thing to do, but if she had decided to hesitate or tell Rayquaza to wait until they left, the meteor would've destroyed the world. It was because he couldn't imagine himself in her place that he realized how much of a better person she was then him, and why he decided to change.

_She's too interesting to change . . . too important._

And yet, she seemed to be unaware of that. She had chalked up her bravery to "rash stupidity," her quick wits in battle to "beginner's luck," and her ability to endure even the worst of tortures (from intense sunlight to Gengar's teasing) to another brand of idiocy. He had tried to convince her of these gifts subtly, poking and prodding her without really coming out and saying "you've got talent," but she had downplayed all of his compliments as if he was joking. It was one of the only things that still irritated him, after all that had happened; he wanted her to stop being so selfless so he could stop feeling so selfish. _But, I suppose that'll never go away,_ he admitted bitterly, eyes flickering down to the claws that had once tried to hurt Kitty for his own personal gain. _Just another skeleton in the closet._

He raised his eyes to examine his base as it came into sight, appreciating the cheeky grin it gave him as if it was welcoming him home from a successful mission. It was an appropriate explanation, considering how well his night had gone. After the nearly heart-stopping discussion on the rooftop, the conversation had dwindled down to escort missions and flavors of tea until the tension had completely dissolved; he was glad that it was all for naught, although he hadn't wanted her to catch on to his anxiety. _After all, the leader of Team Meanies does _not_ get anxious._ They were still friends, and he felt surprisingly relaxed as she described a client's crazy antics as they went through Magma Cavern.

"_. . . and then the grass-type wants to stand behind me–as if that'll protect him from the heat–and says, "Oh, Kitty, how're we going to get out of here alive? Oh, no!" I turned to him and told him, "Dude, I've been a rescuer for how long? I've been here how many times? Relax, you'll be fine." But he just–hey, are you even listening to me?"_

_Gengar grinned at her, although it was less mischievous than it was amused. "Keh, I'm not tuning you out. I was just thinking . . ."_

"_How can you think and listen at the same time?" She smiled with him, and then she asked curiously, tilting her head cutely, "What were you thinking about?"_

_The ghost crossed his arms and put on an arrogant smirk, his façade obvious. "Well, about how _amazing _I am, of course! Kekekeh!" She rolled her eyes, and then he went back to looking up at the stars, his claws propping him up as he leaned back. "And about the future. It's only been a few months since you fought Rayquaza, and yet . . . so much has changed." His gaze flickered to her for a moment, as if gauging her reaction to his words. "It makes me wonder what'll happen next."_

_She didn't frown or laugh, instead blinking thoughtfully as she stared at him without a word. She seemed to mull over it, and after a few heartbeats she finally bumped shoulders with him, making him jump slightly. "Well," she said matter-of-factly, "no matter what happens, I'll be there to help."_

_He looked at her skeptically. "You will?"_

"_Yeah!" She rolled her eyes at the small, doubtful frown on his face. "Gengar, come on. When have you seen me run away when the going gets rough? I mean, I've battled _legends_ before! What could possibly scare me off?" When he didn't look convinced, her tone grew softer as she tried to convey how serious she was. "We're friends now, Gengar. And friends stick together, no matter what."_

_He snorted. "Right. We make quite a team."_

_She beamed at him as if she was trying to use sunny day. "You bet!"_

A team. They were friends, which meant they had each others' backs, stood up for one another, and didn't just stay for the good times. Despite the fact that Blade and Medicham hated their friendship, Gengar couldn't help but grin ridiculously as he stepped into his shadow-filled base. He had come down a very long road, and although the path ahead didn't look any shorter, he felt that he was going to enjoy every step of the way. After all, there was still so much he didn't understand about Kitty; there was never going to be a dull moment around her. And he wasn't going to let anyone get between them; no third parties, no clients, and _definitely_ no "concerned partners." He had worked hard to get this far, and he had a feeling he was going to want to stick around for the rest of the ride.

_Kekeh, I can't wait!_

* * *

**Theme**: Party

* * *

**Author's Note**: As stated before, I will refrain from updating this story anymore until I have plenty of the themes finished ahead of time. I already stalled long enough to get this chapter finished, so I don't want that to happen mid-plot. This was a turning point for the story, so I think I can safely leave it here for a while without any _major_ cliffhangers, well, hanging over our heads. Just some very vague ones. I'm sorry, but I just don't like being forced to write to keep up with the updates. I'd rather finish the story before uploading anything. Bear with me? *puppy eyes*

* * *

_Lots of dragon-y love,  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	51. The Dawn After

_Imagine my surprise when, as I'm glancing through my story traffic and such, I realize with a start that this story has gotten over 10,000 hits total since its creation. Can you believe that? 10,878 hits since August 14__th__, 2010. It's amazing, really, because I still don't feel like this story has a smooth flowing plot, and I'm still daunted by trying to fit the second part of this plot into fifty themed-chapters without filler and stuff. Do you guys really like this story? Really? Truly?_

_I say all of this, and I look at the reviews for this story to see a grand total of . . . twenty-five. Really? Truly? That's . . . 0.0022982165 and so on reviews for each hit, if I did my math right. If so many people are reading this story all the way through, then why aren't you guys telling me what you think about it? Maybe that's part of the reason why I'm surprised so many people are reading it, because no one _tells_ me they are. How am I supposed to know? I'm not psychic-type!_

**Author's Note**: Updates will be slow–_very_ slow–because I don't have a ton of chapters written yet and I'm going to be entering college soon. But, I feel like I've had this on hold for long enough, and I feel bad because, apparently, a lot of people read this story. So, here's this short chapter to kick things in Part Two off.

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter–not even the considerate one–because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-One  
The Dawn After**

* * *

Blinking awake slowly, Kitty was startled to realize that she wasn't lying in her bed of hay, instead looking out over her front yard from the roof. "Wha–did I fall asleep up here?" At first her memory of last night was fuzzy, but as she let the early dawn light shift over her it all started to trickle back: Her serious exchange with Gengar and his later departure. _I stayed up here for a while after he left, though._ She had been mulling over things in the moonlight, turning over her troubling thoughts and feelings until she couldn't think straight, evidently deciding that it was comfortable enough on her roof to simply fall asleep there. Squinting at the sun barely rising over the horizon of trees, she concluded she hadn't had enough rest when a yawn threatened to unbalance her. _Staying up late does that. _She carefully made her way down and trudged into her base, only to blink in bewilderment when she found a surprise waiting for her.

Sitting on a wooden table she _knew_ wasn't there before was a steaming bowl, looking as if it was made only minutes ago. She glanced around suspiciously to see if the ghost was hiding anywhere nearby, but eventually the smell of steeping tea caused her to pad over to it and inhale the sweet fragrance of pecha and mago with a quiet delight. Carefully pulling herself into the matching umbreon-sized stool beside it, Kitty smiled slightly as she felt a bit more human, sitting at a table designed for her height. _I'm starting to think he likes surprising me._ She drank deeply from the bowl, and it wasn't until she finished that she came to a startling realization. _Or maybe he's just thoughtful._ The notion was enough to warm her heart, even more so than the hot tea did.

* * *

**Theme**: Troubling Thoughts

_Lots of dragon-y love,  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	52. Suspicion

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter–not even the one with lots of questions–because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Two**

**Suspicion**

* * *

Much to Kitty's surprise, it wasn't Sakura that appeared at her doorstep a while later–it was the orange dragon she had recently befriended. Each time he flapped his mighty wings, the grass rippled like a wave and the trees nearby rustled with the stirring of the wind, so she had to squint her eyes to even hope to see him clearly as he landed in front of her house. After his wings were safely tucked in beside him and she could see again, the umbreon walked up to him and tilted her gaze up to examine the nervous expression on his face. _Is he biting his lip?_ She couldn't help but compare him to an anxious teenager about to ask his crush's friends about, well, his crush.

"Good morning!" Wincing at how loud his voice was, he repeated in a softer tone, "Good morning. I hope I didn't wake you."

She smiled, wondering what he would have done if he had seen her asleep on her roof. "Oh, no, I've been up for a while. For once." Cocking her head to the side, she then asked him, "What is it? Not that I don't like a visit, but I'd expect your team to be even more busy than _mine._"

He rolled his eyes and huffed lightly. "Don't sell yourself short, Kitty; _your_ team gets more work done than mine, even though we've been doing it for longer." He grinned a toothy grin, raising his chin in silent praise. She smiled and nodded to show her appreciation. "In any case, I actually just wanted to ask you something really quick."

"Okay, shoot." At his confused blink, she sighed, trying not to let her shoulders slump. _I really hate how different my vocabulary is from theirs._ "Go ahead."

Charizard scratched the back of his neck nervously, another sign of uneasiness she wasn't used to seeing from him. _He's not arrogant, but he isn't timid, either. What's wrong with him today?_ As she watched him carefully, his steel blue eyes shifted to the ground as his voice grew even quieter. "Well, I was wondering if . . . you could help me. With something . . . kind of important." She prompted him to keep going, and after a moment of hesitation, he gave a resigned sigh and seemed to take a page out of Kitty's book by blazing on ahead. "What are some things that Sakura likes?"

A silly grin sprouted like a weed on her face. "_I knew it!_" She giggled at his sour expression, sitting down to raise a paw defensively. "Okay, sorry, but I was starting to wonder if it had anything to do with my partner. Anyway, can't you just ask her about this?"

She thought she saw him gulp. "I could, but I don't want her to know that I'm getting her something_._ I'm afraid that she'll tell me not to before I can even come up with an idea, and then I won't want to push it onto her after that or make her feel awkward about it. So . . ." He frowned slightly. "Can you help me?"

Kitty watched him for a while, contemplating the emotions she had seen on both his and Sakura's faces that morning when they met up just west of town. They were definitely friends, and, if she dared to make assumptions, they were _close_ friends already. It was sort of how she and Sakura had hit off when they first met; everything just sort of "clicked," like they were destined to be partners in a rescuing team. _Maybe the same thing happened here._ Making up her mind, she nodded to herself before she smiled warmly at the dragon before her. "Alright. Come inside, and I'll try to help you think of something before she gets here."

He brightened up considerably, and she almost giggled at his eager face before they both walked into her hut to get out of the already bright sunlight. He gave a soft sniff, as if he was pinpointing a particular scent, and then his eyes zeroed in on the bowl in front of her. As she got into her new stool, she found him eyeing her furniture curiously, and then she blinked when he asked a peculiar question: "You said you were already up before I got here, right?"

She cocked her head to the side once more, her left ear twitching slightly. "Yeah . . ."

He locked gazes with her suddenly, making her freeze up as his tone became quiet with suspicion. "You were drinking hot tea?"

It took her a moment to realize the implications of that statement. _You were drinking hot tea, meaning you had to have gotten the tea from Gengar, meaning Gengar was at your house early in the morning._ She couldn't find anything to defend herself with, and as she opened and closed her mouth like a magikarp he raised an eyebrow, looking at her expectantly. Finally, after a few speechless and sporadic heartbeats, she lowered her gaze to the fine grain of the wood, muttering, "It was there when I woke up." The confession nearly burned as it left her lips, and she gulped nervously as she felt that their positions had switched. _Why is it so awkward to admit that Gengar was at my house this morning?_ The way Charizard's nostrils flared to pick up the nuances of the tea blend made her want to sink into the floor and never return. _This must have been what Gengar meant by the opinions of others. I'll have to deal with this pressure from now on._

She was startled by a small snort, and she glanced up to see the toothy grin had reappeared on his face, accompanied with a new gleam of understanding in his eyes. "I see," was all he said on the matter, but his expression clearly told her that he had just been curious and didn't want to intrude. As relief washed over her like a breath of fresh air, he turned their attention back to the reason for his visit. "Would it be too bold to assume that she likes flowers?"

He had her laughing soon enough. She understood now why Sakura had warmed up to him so fast.

* * *

**Theme**: Stirring of the Wind

_Lots of dragon-y love,  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	53. Secrets

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter–not even the surprised one–because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Three**

**Secrets**

* * *

Sakura was too polite to ask why Kitty had intercepted her at the front door before she could step inside, but she thought she heard grunting and the groaning of wood beneath something heavy. The umbreon quickly distracted her with an inquiry of her own. "Hey, I never asked you when your birthday was. You guys do have birthdays, right?"

A sudden breeze whipped up the grass and died away just as quickly, returning to the stagnant calm of before. As she cautiously went to answer Kitty, she stopped to give a small sniff of the air. "Do I smell a fire?"

"Uh, no?" Receiving a suspicious look, the umbreon took a big, dramatic sniff and cocked her head to the side. "Hm, nope, I don't smell anything. Are you avoiding my question?"

"Actually," the grass-type admitted sheepishly, "my birthday was a while back. Remember when I took that vacation?"

Kitty furrowed her eyebrows, or at least where they would be, and when comprehension dawned in her eyes they widened in disbelief. "No way. That long ago? Holy crap, and you didn't tell me?"

She shuffled her feet as much as she could, looking down at them as if it depressed her how difficult it was to do that. "Well, I wasn't sure whether you celebrated it in your old world . . ."

The umbreon rolled her eyes. "I think it's safe to say that _everyone_ should celebrate a birthday. I wish I had known so I could've gotten you something!" Bouncing slightly on her paws, she asked excitedly, "Can I splurge a little today to make up for it? Pretty please? I'll get you some rawst berries!"

Sakura simply smiled and shook her head at her friend's childish display. "How can I say "no" to such an adorable face?" Enduring a smack with a grin, the grass-type turned to get the mail and almost spoke up when she realized the missions were once again organized in a peculiar manner. _Pelipper doesn't have the time to do that himself._ But she kept her thoughts to herself as she brought the letters into the house, and the two of them separated the missions between them and the other members. Kitty managed to convince her to take a light load so they could have some free time afterward, and then they set out for town to get their supplies from Kangaskhan.

After their missions were complete, they walked home at a leisurely pace, occasionally making small talk but mostly just enjoying the quiet of the early evening. The sun was perched on the horizon, looking like a ball teetering on the edge of a table, and Sakura watched as it began its slow descent over the edge and out of sight. They took the scenic route home, pointing out the plant life and the stars that began to pop up in the sky above them. It had been a while since they had simply relaxed after a day of missions; normally, their days were so full that they worked well into the night, but Magnemite had come by to distribute the letters so everyone did their part.

She noticed that something was bothering Kitty, but she waited for her friend to speak on her own, knowing that pushing her would only make it harder for her to say something. Finally, she quietly asked, "Sakura?" When she got a hum in response, the umbreon frowned slightly before glancing over to examine her friend's expression. "I just want you to know that, in the future, you shouldn't be afraid to tell me something. Okay? We're friends. We can tell each other anything."

Sakura gulped as her mind was flooded with things she wanted to tell her partner: Her suspicions, her questions, and the feelings she still couldn't quite understand. But she decided that, for tonight, she'd keep her secrets.

"I know."

* * *

**Theme**: Future

_Lots of dragon-y love,_  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")


	54. Hot Spring

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter–not even the thoroughly content one–because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Four**

**Hot Spring**

* * *

"This is possibly the best mission _ever._"

"Mhm," was Sakura's distracted reply as she sunk a little lower into the hot spring they had stumbled upon by a massive stroke of luck. It was certainly one of the strangest things they had found in a dungeon, but they sure as hell weren't going to complain; their aching muscles and tense frames melted into steamy bliss, and even their escort, a lumbering onix, found a way to enjoy the hot spring as the hot water vapor caressed his face. All of them let out a collective sigh, sending the girls into giggles, and they almost completely forgot about their mission to find Onix's friend, Milotic.

After a while, Sakura smiled sleepily and mumbled, "Can you imagine what the others back in town would say if they saw us?" Both of their eyes rose to the rocky ceiling as they thought about it, and the grass-type continued, "I can just see Lombre scowling jealously!"

"The kecleon brothers might want to set up shop next to it to reap more money."

"I bet Kangaskhan would love to bring her kid here!"

"So would Ariados and his family."

After they had exhausted the more obvious reactions, a silence began to stretch between them that held a little too much consideration; when their eyes met, they both knew what the other was thinking. Quietly, so as to not be overheard by their escort, the umbreon suggested, "Maybe Charizard would like this place, if he could keep his tail out of the water."

Sakura nodded. "And I bet Gengar would enjoy a little R&R."

They mulled over the idea of bringing their other close friends there, but Kitty snorted a heartbeat later. "Well, he _could,_" she grumbled, "if Medicham wasn't such a whiny, bossy brat. She'd probably follow him just to complain about everything."

The venusaur grinned at the image, adding, "And I don't think Tyranitar would appreciate being left out, even if water _isn't_ healthy for a rock-type."

Kitty and company stayed for a little longer, letting the healing properties of the hot water work their magic before getting up to tackle the rest of the dungeon. Both seemed ready to take on the world, as if their insecurities had melted away along with their exhaustion. Onix asked as they exited the hidden chamber, "Do you think this spring will stay here for long?"

They both shook their heads, humming, "Doubt it." Giggling childishly at their harmonious reply, Sakura added, "But if it does somehow, let's come back here again!"

* * *

**Theme**: Health and Healing

_Lots of dragon-y love,_  
_~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	55. Forgiveness

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter–not even the one behind-the-scenes–because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Five**

**Forgiveness**

* * *

Kitty was surprised to wake up one morning two weeks later to find Blade waiting in the doorway. The sunlight behind him cast his face into shadows, making it difficult to see if he was his normal self or still indignant after their argument, but she decided to play it safe and apologize for what she had said. She hadn't gotten around to figuring out what to say, but at least with fourteen days behind her, she was definitely levelheaded.

She tried to smile, but it was only a flicker when she couldn't really see if he acknowledged it. "Um, good morning." He didn't respond, so she got to her feet and quietly padded over, deciding that perhaps silence was best. Swallowing dryly, she followed him out of the base and over to the overflowing mailbox in the front yard. He retrieved the missions, and then she realized she had forgotten something. "My pack."

Still silent, Blade walked back into the eevee-shaped hut, causing her to bite her lip. _He couldn't have forgiven me. I haven't apologized yet!_ She was beginning to think he was just too good of a person to hold a grudge when he came back out, gripping her bag with his teeth. He stopped to sling it over his shoulder, and then he continued down the path towards town, making her jog to keep up with him. _Or maybe the silence is the punishment. Not even a grunt of warning or approval._ It was disturbing.

When they approached Kangaskhan's hut, Kitty fully expected the normal-type to make some sort of comment concerning her teammate's presence. But the storage owner didn't mention anything, only giving her a meaningful look before going on to do her job, handing them the berries and apples necessary for the missions she had picked on the way there. _The missions aren't all exclusively at dark places, either._ She didn't know whether to be curious or disappointed. _Does that mean that the requests are coming from different places than before, or that someone was organizing them before, and stopped?_ She wondered if that meant Blade was the organizer; she doubted he would answer her if she asked outright.

He rushed her out of town as soon as they were finished, and as they walked down the dirt road to their first destination–the Desert Region–she wondered why. _Does he just want to get the day over with? Was he forced into coming by Sakura?_ The grass-type may have had errands to do and sent Blade to "babysit" her, and she wilted at the thought of the absol being silent the entire day, then straightened up determinedly. _Time to swallow your pride, Kitty._

She gulped down her anxiety and ventured quietly, "Blade?" She watched him carefully, searching for any physical clues to his thoughts, but his expression revealed nothing and his steps didn't even falter. Yet she persevered. "If I apologized for getting angry with you, would you forgive me?"

He didn't respond, but now his eyes were on her and she felt uneasy under his scrutiny. _What's _he_ looking for?_ Striving to be honest with him, she went on, "I'm sorry for yelling at you, when you were only looking out for me . . . but I felt like you didn't think I could look out for myself. I felt like I was an eevee all over again, with the short jokes and doubts in my abilities." She looked down at her paws as they continued south, getting further and further from Pokemon Square. "I guess it . . . just struck a nerve."

The conversation was abandoned for a time, so she heaved a sigh and resigned herself to not knowing where she stood with her friend and looked up at the road ahead. _Guess I'll just have to keep trying._ She almost didn't notice that Blade wasn't beside her, but when she heard quick footsteps hurrying after her she halted and glanced over her shoulder with a confused frown.

His expression was solemn, as if she had mentioned a funeral they had to attend after the mission was over, and his eyes bore into hers with what looked like sympathy and regret. Before she could ask anything, his soft words put all of her thoughts on hold for a few heartbeats.

"I never doubted you. Not for one moment."

She stared at him, her mind unable to function, and she could only watch as his expression closed once more and he started down the road again, albeit slower than before. She blinked owlishly, as if he had tried quizzing her on trigonometry, before running after him and falling into step by his side. She didn't know why, but it seemed like there had been a line between them before, like the borders of two countries, and they had just crossed the lines and compromised. She hoped that meant he forgave her.

* * *

**Theme**: Separation

_Lots of dragon-y love,  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	56. Where Home Really Is

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter–not even theones sharing secrets–because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Six**

**Where Home Really Is**

* * *

Sakura's laughter rung loud and clear as she expressed her intoxicating delight to the brilliant blue sky–but Kitty still fought the urge to smile. She was too stubborn to let her frustration go.

"Dammit, Sakura, this isn't funny! I need help, and you're _laughing_ at me!"

"I'm sorry," the grass-type said as she wiped her eyes with a vine, and a giggle bubbled forth when the fox gave her an unconvinced look. "Really, I am! I didn't mean to, but that look on your face . . ."

Kitty huffed. "You mean the look of utter confusion? Yeah, _hi_larious." She scoffed at her friend's continued enjoyment of her misery and grumbled, "Some friend _you_ are."

"Okay, okay." More tears were wiped away, and the laughter died down. "Okay. I'm thinking." The expression on the venusaur's face could only be described as the "I'm solving a complicated puzzle in the dark with pieces missing" look, and her leader was able to sympathize with that. _I'm sure I've essentially copyrighted that look._ After contemplating for a while as the distance to Lapis Cave grew shorter, Sakura finally asked, "And you're sure those were his exact words?"

The umbreon sighed. "Yeah. _"I never doubted you. Not for a moment."_ " She paused, and then she added, "Or maybe it was _"Not for one moment."_ Now I'm starting to doubt myself." She scowled when Sakura choked back a laugh. "Anyway, I can't figure out why he would say that. After all that's happened and all we've been through, why would he suddenly tell me that he's always had faith in me?" _It's like the time he said I inspired him; I don't know how to interpret that._

Sakura hummed. "I think you might've answered your own question." When she only received a look of bewilderment, she explained, "Repeat what you just said."

"Why would he–"

"No, _before_ that!" She prodded her friend with a vine. " _"After all that's happened and all we've been through."_ _That_ answered you're question."

She frowned, clearly baffled as her eyebrows began to furrow. "It did?"

The venusaur rolled her eyes and groaned. "Geez, Kitty, you're so dense sometimes." Enduring a tail-slap without complaint, she went on matter-of-factly, "You seem to forget fairly often how much you mean to us." Her expression softened. "To _all_ of us."

The dark-type swallowed, feeling uncomfortable for some reason. _And I would have left you all to return home months ago._ The thought alone made her nauseous, but she fought to keep it from her expression to avoid worrying her friend. _I've caused her enough trouble._

Sakura went on, oblivious to the umbreon's discomfort, "Blade and I fought by your side on Rayquaza's tower without hesitation; Caterpie and the others never believed for a moment that you were the selfish human in the legend; Alakazam and Xatu created the teleport gem for you, trusting you with the fate of the world . . ." Here she smiled warmly, casting her a knowing glance while a nagging thought momentarily distracted her. "And Gengar has certainly changed for the better, hasn't he?" Letting her mull over it for a while, the venusaur finally told her sincerely, "We would give up _everything_ for you, Kitty. Every single time."

Kitty was surprised by the sudden _whoosh_ of air leaving her lungs as a heavy weight settled on her heart, her emotions clenching the organ tightly as tears sprung to her eyes. Unable to come to terms with them, she whispered miserably, "I-I . . ." Her stutter brought them both to a halt, and her companion stared at her in confusion as she stumbled over her words. "I never knew—and I almost—you never—" She finally forced the wretched words out. "I was _gone._"

Comprehension dawned in the grass-type's expression, and she quickly tugged her friend for a vine-hug as tears began to overwhelm them both. The anguish was plain on her leader's face, and she strived to snatch it away from her and toss it into the wind. "I-I know," she replied softly, then tightened her grip to calm the both of them. "But, you came _back._" Her tone made it clear that was all that mattered to her.

Their hearts poured out their hidden fears and worries, knowing they were safe with the other, and several minutes passed with complete silence and a tight embrace between soul-bonded siblings. When the last of the tears was wiped from their dripping chins, Kitty came to a sudden decision and gave a closely guarded secret with a watery smile. "My name back home was really Katherine." Sakura's eyes widened, and then a look of admiration preceded her trademark happiness that outshone the sun above them.

"I think I might like Charizard."

Kitty grinned. "Oh, I already knew that." Laughing at her friend's red face, she added cheekily, "When's the wedding again?"

The venusaur understood the foreign term from one of the many times the umbreon had explained the human world to Caterpie and Metapod, so her embarrassment was reasonable. "_Kitty!_" She tried to chase after her but had to resort to dragging her back with a vine. "Don't make me tickle you!"

"Ack!" Kitty writhed away from the friendly torture, gasping, "That's not fair!"

Sakura's grin was eerily reminiscent of a certain fighting-type, and she even mimicked her singsong voice. "No, it wouldn't be fair to tell _Gengar_ how ticklish you are . . ." She enjoyed the panicky expression on her friend's face and cackled just like said ghost.

"You wouldn't dare!"

* * *

**Theme**: Everything for You

_Lots of dragon-y love,  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	57. Circles of Flowers and Friends

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter–not even the ones picking on someone totally not their size–because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

**Author's Note**: The theme doesn't make much sense since I decided to limit myself to 150 words this chapter and I didn't get to throw in the words themselves, but if you follow the train of thought that the chapter leaves you on, it should become clear. (For those who may need a hint: Kitty better not slow down if she knows what's good for her.)

**Kudos**: to a reviewer for coining the term "Sakura's subtle-cue-reading," or her SCR. Total awesomeness.

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Seven**

**Circles of Flowers and Friends**

* * *

"Are those for _me?_"

"Well . . . yeah."

"Charizard, it's beautiful! How did you know I love daffodils?"

"A little fox told me. Here, let me put it on . . ."

"Don't let her hear you say that."

"Heh. Believe me, I won't. I like having my wings attached."

". . . Th-thank you, Charizard. I can only imagine how much work you put into weaving these into a crown."

"Well, I had to have Alakazam help me with the little things; these claws aren't exactly delicate."

"Still. It was very thoughtful of you."

"It's no problem . . . really."

…

"_Sakura and Charizard, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S—_"

"Ack! Kitty, I swear I'll tell Gengar you're ticklish!"

"She's ticklish?"

"Yeah, and she's about to _remember_ that in a second!"

"I think I can help you jog her memory . . ."

"_Eek!_ Hey, two against one isn't fair!"

* * *

**Theme**: Slow Down

**Author's Note the Sequel**: Would you like a sort of "Ask the Characters" thing for _JtS_ and its characters, separate from the story? The characters could meet up at that mysterious hot spring that Kitty and Sakura found on Onix's escort mission, with "letters" sent to their mailboxes from "curious pokemon." I don't think FFN allows them, though; if not, I can always put them on my DeviantArt account instead and add the links to my Author's Notes. (This means you'll have to start asking questions, though!) I also have a tumblr you can use to ask questions if that's what you prefer, called _Lucky So Far_; I have a link on my DA journal, so go on over there and ask away!

_Lots of dragon-y love,  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	58. Nefarious Plotting

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter–not even theone who can't keep still–because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Eight**

**Nefarious Plotting**

* * *

Ekans eyed his teammate silently for the last half of the hour as she attempted to create a groove into the floor of their base with her pacing. She always resorted to this tactic whenever their leader disappeared—sometimes before they even woke up—and his sanity was beginning to slip. _If I don't get her to stop soon, Gengar will come back to find I magically found a way to strangle myself without paws._ After indulging in the morbid image he conjured up of tying his body into a knot, he shook it away and carefully approached the fighter. "Medicham . . ."

She whirled on him immediately, snapping, "What?" She was obviously on edge, and he feared this was the night she took her rage out on him—physically. _Yelling might not do it for her tonight._ He shivered at the thought. The body-knot was starting to sound pleasant.

"Don't you think you're overreacting? He's only been gone for a little . . ." He trailed off when she scowled and started pacing feverishly, and he eyed the door for any sign of their missing leader before he tried another approach. "He'll be back soon. He just needs to get this out of his system."

"That's what you've been saying for months now." Medicham pinned him with a glare as if daring him to contradict her, and when he eventually relented, she stopped pacing to stand her ground. "He's been doing this little charade for weeks—three months, if I remember correctly—and he hasn't shown any signs of stopping. He was just trying to "_satisfy his curiosity,_" " she imitated the ghost-type with a sneer, "but all he's doing is getting more and more interested! He keeps going back for more!"

She fidgeted with the need to create a groove into the floor with her restless feet, so she occupied herself by crossing her arms and putting all of her energy into scowling. It made an impressive expression that would drive any small pokemon into their mother's arms, and Ekans squirmed uneasily under her relentless staring. "Gengar is acting really strange," she continued, her voice quiet with barely contained fury. "He's never put so much thought into a "nefarious plot" before—and yet I see him at her side whenever he can slip away. If he's trying to woo her into an elaborate scheme . . ." Her eyes narrowed, making the snake gulp. "It might be working a little too well."

Her words struck him as odd, so he slowly parroted, " "It might be working too well"? "

She didn't explain further, but he saw when an idea struck her like a shadow ball and watched warily as she clenched her fists. "I think it's time we taught her a lesson." She spun on her heel and stormed out of the base, slamming the door open and ignoring when it rebounded off of the outside wall. Her reptilian teammate slithered in her wake—after checking to make sure the door didn't fall off its hinges, and he silently thanked Kitty's kindness for that—and his attention was piqued when she inquired in a casual tone that barely betrayed her smugness, "Have you heard of the Wish Cave?"

* * *

**Theme**: Lesson

_Lots of dragon-y love,  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	59. To Protect

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter–not even theone ready to fight–because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Nine**

**To Protect**

* * *

It was with great care that Blade followed his leader from a distance, in order to avoid being discovered. His eyes narrowed as the ghost said something that made Kitty laugh, and he cursed his ability to sense disasters as it was mysteriously absent. _It should be literally _throwing_ me at them with the intensity of the tragedy surrounding her._ He was waiting for the slightest hint that all wasn't right so he could rush in and tear her from Gengar's side: A tiny frown, hidden tears, _anything._ He just knew that something terrible was going to happen—that Kitty was going to have her heart ripped from her chest and stomped on. He wanted to be there, not to say "I told you so," but to carry her to safety and make sure she would never experience deep wounds like that again. His devotion was relentless, and he wouldn't let anything—not even Kitty's ridiculous notion of "friendship" with the ghost-type—stand in his way.

But, it was still difficult when he couldn't keep her completely away from the leader of Team Meanies. Even after all of the precautions, of getting up early to see her and making sure to avoid stumbling into the ghost, he found that Gengar still managed to interact with the fox in the strangest of ways. One morning, they had found a bowl of steaming tea waiting for them at Kangaskhan's hut. She had snatched a letter from him before Blade could tear it to shreds, reading almost dejectedly as he told her his day was full of missions (although that didn't stop her from being overjoyed at his apparent redemption in others' eyes). And now, he had walked into her base only to find it empty, save for a note telling him that she had gone "out for an early morning walk."

_And of course, she failed to mention who was accompanying her._ He glared into the ghost-type's back, but it didn't seem effective as he remained blissfully unaware of their stalker.

Blade would have stumbled over his own feet if the backtracking wasn't a proverbial action.

Her guardian.

_That's more like it. I am _not_ a stalker._ He snorted. _Not like _him_._

Anyway, Gengar seemed to be purposefully meddling with his protective measures, and the nearly obvious challenge made the absol grind his fangs until it hurt. He imagined that he jumped for joy whenever he managed to outwit Kitty's self-proclaimed bodyguard, and the image made him sneer. Whenever they did run into each other, the shadow pokemon merely grinned haughtily at the dark-type's furious glare, passing him without a second glance. It drove him mad, and he wished hopelessly that Kitty could see how obviously fake the ghost was. _This is all a game to him. He doesn't care about your feelings! Why am I the only one who sees that?_

Her refusal to see the truth pained him, but to hear that she thought he had doubted her caused his heart to seize up so violently that he still had trouble breathing easily whenever he thought about it. The last thing he wanted to do was to cause Kitty such anguish, especially because her best interests were his first priority. Ever since he had come across her in the frost-bitten lands far to the north, near the end of her arduous journey to clear her name, he had vowed to do everything in his power to help the small, brown fox with the weight of the world on her shoulders. (Immediately feeling guilty for the isolated selection of his vow, he also admitted that he looked out for the grass-type indebted to his leader, although to a far lesser degree.) To know that he had made her feel inadequate, even after all that she had gone through, caused him to take a step back and look over their situation once more, only to realize just how deep she had gotten and how impossible it was to drag her back out.

She had dug a hole too deep to pull her out by force; he could only hope that, when it started to cave in on her, she would take the lifeline he threw down.

Which was why he was watching her now, holding back so she could enjoy the illusion the ghost had cast for as long as she could. He hated to admit it to himself and would refuse to even think about uttering it out loud, but Kitty was _happy_—and he hated Gengar even more because of it, because he knew it couldn't last. She was tangled in a web of lies, and Blade could only try to keep her from getting even deeper in the trap that was set for her. He would fight as hard as he could to keep her where she was, because it would hurt a lot less if she didn't get anymore attached to Gengar than she already was.

That was why he kept walking her into town, stuffing missions into her mailbox and talking to her about anything to keep her mind off of the ghost. To protect her.

Blade was brought out of his introspective thoughts when Pelipper fluttered before the pokemon on a walk, looking frantically between the fox and the ghost before deciding to present the letter to Kitty. Both dark-types frowned at the unexpected delivery, as only personal emergencies of the highest order could be so important as to interrupt the busy bird's tight schedule. He growled when Gengar assisted in unfolding the paper for her, but he sat in wait as he watched for her reaction to its contents. He noticed that her lips were moving and figured she was reading it aloud, and so he was stirred into action by the mutual expressions of shock and panic on their faces when the letter fell to the ground.

"Kitsune?"

Both turned to look at the absol, unable to form the proper responses to his unasked question—Kitty didn't smile in greeting, and Gengar didn't grin proudly or scowl at his interruption. This unsettled him further, and he stepped forward to examine what had rattled them so badly. His expression darkened.

" '_We wouldn't be mailing you if we thought anyone else was capable. But, it seems Medicham and I have gone in a little over our heads. I'm embarrassed, and she's livid, but we have to ask for your assistance out of this place._

_Ekans and Medicham of Team Meanies_

_Wish Cave_' "

Team Meanies had gone to Wish Cave without their leader? Blade watched the ghost-type and wondered if he was acting. _Did he send them there in hopes of reaching the legendary treasure at the end?_ Just another layer of mystery to add to the secret plot behind Gengar's smirk. He bristled at the thought of such a selfish motive and instantly wished to snatch Kitty away from him.

She finally seemed to come to her senses as she stuttered, "I-I have to go and help them—"

"Geh, I'll go with you—"

Blade almost snarled, but Kitty surprised him into silence when she shook her head, seeming to finally regain herself as she smiled apologetically at the ghost. "No, Gengar, it's alright. Blade's my teammate, he can go with me." She straightened her stance, adding determinedly, "We'll bring them back!"

He almost wanted to tell her that her reassurances were wasted, but then her words reached his mind and he realized that he had just been volunteered. _Damn._ But, the look of horror that would be on the fighter's face when she realized who was saving them would be priceless. _Better yet,_ he reasoned with a smirk,_ it means he can't come with us!_ He looked on smugly as Gengar simmered before reluctantly deciding to stay at his base. _Stay there, and don't ever come out. Do the world—and Kitty—a favor._

Kitty ran to locate her partner, and the absol allowed himself a triumphant grin when he noticed the ghost-type's scowl. A glare was sent his way, and he eagerly returned it.

Battle lines had been drawn, and Blade prepared to defend Kitty with his life. He wouldn't give up an inch.

* * *

**Theme**: Challenged

_Lots of dragon-y love,  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	60. Collapse

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter–not even the one who can't help but push it–because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

**Chapter Sixty**

**Collapse**

* * *

Kitty shook off a wave of nausea as she continued through the surprisingly well-lit cave. _Deep breaths,_ she told herself, slowly inhaling and exhaling to keep from losing her quick breakfast. _Just hurry up and find Medicham and Ekans, and then you can go home and sleep it off._ She hadn't been feeling the best that morning when she'd gone for that walk with Gengar, but she hadn't wanted to tell anyone about it in case she had to do an important mission—such as this one. _If I can survive at high altitudes where no one other than flying-types should go, I'll be fine doing a mission with a cold._

She just hadn't expected how much of her energy was from her experience. Wish Cave was peculiar in the way it sucked power from any rescuer who ventured into its depths, throwing them back to square one regardless of level. It had been mildly hilarious watching Sakura learning how to walk again, but after she apologized for laughing Kitty had realized that even though the sun couldn't reach them in the cave it felt like it was bearing down on her—although she couldn't tell whether that was from the cave's mysterious power or her sickness. She needed to find Gengar's lackeys, and fast, before she ended up fainting.

At least defeating the other pokemon within the cave returned some of their strength, as Blade had revealed after he had smacked a jigglypuff trying to serenade him to sleep. Sakura helped fend off attackers with her vine whip while Kitty floundered with the basic tackle, leaving the umbreon feeling rather useless. "This is just like my first few months here," she bemoaned, kicking a rock in her frustration.

The absol only rolled his eyes at her childishness, but Sakura reached over with a vine to comfort her with a pat. "It's okay, Kitty. They're not that far from the entrance. Just a little while longer."

"We could always leave them here," Blade grumbled, startling a cleffa with his glare. It ran away in tears.

Kitty scowled at him. "Blade, we're already here. And I've already told Gengar that I would get them back."

His blank stare clearly asked what her point was, so she rolled her eyes back and marched ahead of them, ignoring the dizziness that her change in pace caused. Grumbling to herself, she fought past a group of marill and rattata despite his offers to help, blowing a raspberry when he made a comment about her "short" temper. Her partner, with a long-suffering sigh, asked the two of them, "Are you really going to act like a bunch of children for the whole mission?"

Her answer was a glare from both of them.

But Kitty lost her fire the deeper they went; she shivered from the lack of heat and gagged on the stagnant air whenever her teammates weren't looking. She was miserable, but for once she tried her hardest to keep her mouth shut about it. In fact, other than the occasional squabble with Blade, she hardly talked at all. _Takes too much energy,_ she decided, blinking wearily as she rounded a corner in the cave.

Blade finally seemed to notice how pathetic she was when she stumbled over her own feet, but before he could voice his thoughts he was stopped by Sakura's excited, "Look there!" She pointed a vine at a chamber ahead of them that glowed with firelight, and their leader felt accomplished when she recognized the fighter's pale skin beside a purple blob. _There they are!_ The venusaur called out to them, and Medicham glanced up sourly as they approached. She looked like she'd rather die of starvation in the cave than be rescued by Team Foxfire.

A pile of broken sticks had been lit on fire (presumably by her fire punch), and Ekans glanced blearily at them from his coiled position right beside it, opposite of his teammate. "Oh," he sighed in relief, "there you are." Medicham's glare made him cower back to the center of his spiraling body, rattle shaking slightly.

"Yeah," Kitty breathlessly replied, exhausted. "Here we are." The fire was already making her start to sweat. She belatedly wished she had stayed in the passageway where it was cold.

Medicham wouldn't allow her any satisfaction. "We were doing fine," she lied, raising her chin haughtily. "We didn't need _your_ help."

Blade snorted, his eyes flashing dangerously. "And that's why you were sitting around, waiting to be rescued." He snarled when she muttered something rude under her breath, and he furiously stalked off as he growled, "Kitsune, use the badge so we can return these miserable creatures to their leader."

He earned a disapproving glare from the grass-type, but the umbreon in possession of the team's supplies didn't answer, and he glanced over just as her vision started to black out. She whimpered softly before collapsing to the cool ground, and she passed out while someone called her name._ Dad?_

.

Blade's heart leapt into his throat at the sight of his leader crumpling to the ground; he easily beat Sakura to her side, leaping over the grass-type as she shuffled helplessly on shorter legs. He crouched low and pressed his cheek to her flank, and his pulse slowed a bit when he heard the reassuring sound of respiration. But it was shallow, and he ignored Sakura's hysterics and Medicham's indignant protests as he focused all of his attention on getting her onto his back.

He instructed the grass-type to reach for Kitty's badge, but he was surprised when the snake managed to do so before her. As the venusaur tried and failed to complete her sentences, Ekans carefully passed the badge to Blade with a quiet, "Will she be alright?"

The disaster pokemon's eyebrows furrowed at the idea of a member of Team Meanies showing concern, but he quickly shook it off with a noncommittal grunt before gesturing for everyone to hold onto him for the way out. Medicham made sure to grab a patch of fur as violently as she could, and she sneered and yanked hard when he whipped his head around to scowl. Deciding to let her make faces at his back, he activated the badge's power and tried to keep the umbreon on his back as steady as possible. "Hold on, Kitsune," he breathed to no one, cautiously lifting a paw and releasing a small sigh when she wasn't shifted out of place. Focusing on putting one paw in front of the other, he let the grass-type lead the way and so wasn't paying attention to anyone who might've been waiting at Team Foxfire's base.

He stopped right before bumping into Sakura as he heard Gengar's signature cackle. "Kekeh, welcome back—" He halted mid-taunt, though, and his eyes narrowed as he took in Sakura's frightened face and Ekans' grim expression. "What's . . ." His priorities quickly changed when he realized who was missing from the front of the group. "Where's Kitty?" Blade didn't bother answering his question; he held his head high as he pushed between Sakura and Medicham, and he let the latter glare at him as he brushed past the ghost on his way to Kitty's door.

It was obvious when Gengar noticed his unconscious cargo. A sharp gasp preceded a startled, "Geh, what happened?!"

"I-I don't know," Sakura admitted tearfully as the absol slipped inside the base, and the frenzied discussion went on without him while he tended to his fellow dark-type. She felt far too warm, so he dipped his paw into the vase beside her bed and wiped it onto her forehead to cool her off.

"You stubborn kit," he scolded her, his voice low to avoid disturbing her fitful rest. "Why didn't you tell us you were ill?" He wetted his paw again and glanced out the window, watching the lackeys explain the situation to their leader whose expression was unreadable. "For them? For _him?_" She slumbered on, and he shook his head and set aside his questions for later. Her health required all of his attention now.

He worked diligently to get her fever down, searching for the appropriate berries and seeds as he tried his best to heal her. He was about to reach for more items after using the last heal seed when a purple claw was suddenly extended, offering an oran berry. He stiffened up, immediately wary of the assistance, and he glared at the ghost who stared at him without his characteristic smirk. The serious expression on his face wasn't familiar, but Blade kept his unease hidden as he growled threateningly, "Out."

Gengar's eyes narrowed.

"No."

* * *

**Theme**: Exhaustion

_Lots of dragon-y love,  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	61. Mask

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter–not even the one who's just now realizing this, sixty-one chapters later–because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

**Chapter Sixty-One**

**Mask**

* * *

Gengar knew that Blade would resort to violence if provoked, but he didn't move to avoid the assault he was anticipating. _I'm not moving a goddamn inch._ The ghost-type glanced at the frail-looking umbreon on the hay bed and knew that he just couldn't sit back and wait for something to happen. _I have to do my part._

Blade wasn't making it easy for him, though. "_Out,_" he repeated in a lower tone, his fanged snarl emphasizing his raised hackles. He ignored the berry offered to him in favor of glaring daggers at the one who presented it to him.

It took all of Gengar's self-control to keep his tone even; he knew it wouldn't be wise to contest the absol now, when Kitty's health was threatened. He needed to be the mature one, for once. _How strange._ "We may hate each other's guts," he calmly pointed out, "but neither of us wants to see her hurt."

"That remains to be seen," was Blade's sharp reply, and it stung a little more than it should have coming from the defensive dark-type. But it reminded him of his past faults, and the insecurities started to creep up on him in this moment of weakness.

_Dammit. With Kitty unconscious and feverish and her guard dog biting my head off, I can't think straight!_ He took a deep breath before pulling the berry apart, eating one half while still holding out the other. "See?" He strained to keep his dry sarcasm to a minimum. "It isn't poisoned."

Blade examined the blue fruit with disdain, obviously uncomfortable with trusting the leader of Team Meanies with even the smallest of things. But Kitty's shallow breaths and faint whimpers were his undoing, and he snarled quietly before snatching it from the ghost and coaxing her mouth open to receive it. Gengar didn't say another word, his gaze focused on the umbreon's weary expression as she fought the illness in her sleep. He wondered what she would say if she saw them working together now, even unwillingly. _Then again, if she _was_ able to see it, he would probably refuse my help because of his pride._ He felt that he would probably do the same, if the roles were reversed.

The silence inside of the hut was suffocating, but neither of them wanted to break it as they both watched Kitty for signs of improvement. Her temperature was still high, but she had finally succumbed to a deeper slumber and her breaths had become a little more even. Blade continued his work with the vase, and Gengar supplied the occasional berry to keep her energy up. The ghost-type used this time to ponder over his teammates' actions, and his forehead creased in silent bewilderment.

_What in the world were they doing in Wish Cave?_ Medicham had been tight-lipped, but her leader felt there was more to Ekans' explanation of "looking for the rumored treasure." _If they really wanted to get it, wouldn't they have waited for me?_ It was the first time they had left without his say so, and they hadn't even left a note to inform him of their whereabouts; he had woken up that morning to find his base empty. At the time, he had assumed they were entertaining themselves in anticipation of his plans to visit Kitty. _I should have known she wouldn't have tolerated that. She's not nearly that passive._ There was something they weren't telling him, but the snake had been cowed into silence by his more violent teammate. _She's getting worse—God knows how that's possible, but she _is.

He also wished he had known how ill Kitty was; if he had seen the signs before she left for the mission, he would've stopped her from going. He would've rescued them himself, if it would've kept her home and healthy. _But she's too stubborn for that,_ he scolded half-heartedly. He felt warm regard as well as exasperation for her and her martyring tendencies. _It's just who she is._ Even with the consequences staring him in the face, he hoped she never changed.

"Stop pretending."

Gengar blinked. Blade was watching him now, his paw on autopilot as he examined the ghost's expression for some hint of malice.

"Pretending?"

The absol jerked his head towards his leader, and his lip curled as he clarified, "To care."

The ghost-type narrowed his eyes at his adversary, his claw tapping on his side in irritation. "You should be careful of what you say." He didn't back down from the glare tossed back at him; war was declared under Kitty's roof as they tried to intimidate each other into surrendering.

"Stop acting like you care for her," Blade repeated through gritted teeth, as if doing so would make it true.

"_Watch it,_" Gengar warned again.

"Stop lying."

"I'm _not._"

"You don't care!"

"I _do!_" Gengar lost his composure as he stepped forward, all pretenses of calm swept away by the searing anger he felt towards the disaster pokemon. He had had enough. "Don't try to _tell _me how I feel!"

Blade moved forward as well, bringing them face-to-face as he spat, "You're deceiving her, and I won't stand for it!"

"It's the truth!" When the dark-type only scowled, Gengar pressed on with a scowl, "Whether you believe it or not, I _care_ about her!"

And suddenly, the accuracy of that statement brought everything to a screeching halt. _I care about her._ He inhaled sharply, his mouth hanging open mid-rant as the sudden absence of his rage made him hesitate and caused the wheels in his mind to grind to a standstill. _I care about her._ When he saw Blade's eyes narrow at the unexpectedly short retort, he belatedly tried to save face. "And I don't need your permission to do so!"

"You care about her," he repeated, his tone doubtful as he grimaced at the idea.

_I do._ Unable to bring himself to say it again, Gengar nodded with a glare that dared Blade to do his worst. _Nothing you say will matter._ He clenched his fists, focusing on the prick of his claws on his ghostly palms to avoid lashing out.

He didn't respond to the absol's sneer, or the sarcastic, "Of course." He didn't appreciate the condescending tone he had, though, as he suggested, "Perhaps, since you _care_ about her, you'll go tell her partner to stop worrying?" When all he received was an irritated frown, Blade's chin rose a fraction higher. "Kitty wouldn't want her to be upset."

The dark-type was right. _But you don't have to be so smug about it._ Scowling, Gengar pointed at the umbreon on the hay, swearing he'd return. "Don't threaten me," was his reply, and it was a challenge to make it to the doorway without simply clocking him. _Do this without complaint and bring supplies back, just to spite him, _he told himself.

At the sight of a teary venusaur by the mailbox, he took a deep breath and charged ahead, Kitty-style. She struggled to her feet as he approached, but she visibly sagged when he raised a claw to stop her. "Ohh, is she alright?" Her voice was cracked with helplessness and frustration. He sympathized with her.

"She's definitely improving," he explained coolly, trying to keep her from bursting into hysterics. "She's still got a fever, but it's going down with some berries and cool water."

Sakura nodded, sniffling softly. Her eyes then slipped over to the front door, and she lowered her voice to a hoarse whisper. "I heard shouting . . . is everything . . . okay?"

_I care about Kitty._ He quickly snapped that can of worms shut, refusing to deal with it until he could think without interruptions. Trying to keep his tone even, he replied quietly, "As much as it can be." He wondered about the pity that she gazed at him with, but he shook it off and straightened his imaginary spine, being a man—ghost—on a mission. "Anyway," he continued, voice back to normal, "I need to go get some more supplies. Help me find anything useful?"

She nodded seriously. "I'll do anything to help." _Because I care about her,_ was the unspoken message in her words, and he fought to keep the _I do, too_ from bubbling into his expression. He had to keep the charade up for a little while longer.

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

**Theme**: Accuracy

_Lots of dragon-y love,  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


	62. Choices

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter–not even theone who can't seem to avoid getting stuck between a rock and a hard place–because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

* * *

**Chapter Sixty-Two**

**Choices**

* * *

_She was in that forest, filled with a deep mist that clung to everything as it hid the world. She was searching for someone, but the name died on her lips. Were they coming? Had she forgotten to tell them to meet her here? Worried for her friend, she trudged through the trees at a sedate pace, paws morphing into hands and feet as she shook her hair and ears from her face. Rising fluidly onto her two legs, she broke through the forest to find herself before a blinding pond of pure moonlight. _

_A strange feeling made her kneel before the pool, and she was eventually able to stare straight into the light comfortably until she could catch a murky figure on the pool's surface. Its tall, slender form was familiar to her, but before she could identify it, a thin arm was raised to one side. She could barely make out people clustered together, each figure blending into the next as an overwhelming sense of nostalgia washed over her. _Family,_ that side was called, and _Home._ She had been gone for so long._

_She nearly fell into the pool then, but the first figure stopped her with a hand, head shaking slightly. She had already chosen to stay in her new_ Home._ She would not be returning to the other world._

_The brilliance of the moonlight melted the regret she had once harbored over this decision, leaving her at peace as she thought of how her heart had grown in this other world. To uproot herself now would be much more painful than any hyper beam or meteor, and she didn't want to hurt the people she loved again._

_So the figure waved her hand, and now other, stranger forms replaced the ones from before. Short and tall, bulky and skinny, four-legged and two-legged—it was obvious they were from her new _Home._ She smiled at vines and blades and spider legs, feeling absolutely normal about the good associations she had with them all. It fit perfectly into her life, and she wouldn't change a thing._

_If shadowy figures could frown, the apologetic aura from the first slender form would have been accompanied by one. Clasping its two hands, then pulling them apart, it separated her new friends into different groups—factions, one might say, from the way they all seemed to prepare for battle._

_Vines guarded a large flower and her dragon companion, standing defensively as a small fox sat between them. One plant crept across the way, however, and tentatively grasped the leg of a four-legged warrior who stood amongst the other side. He refused the offer, glaring at the creature that stood at the center of the conflict. It seemed the one with the spikes and wide smile was the cause of the split._

_Along with the flower and the dragon, other people—pokemon—stood by Kitty's side. Sherlock, with his careful advice while searching for his energetic daughter; Kanghaskan and her soft memories as she tended to her drowsy son. She heard comforting murmurs from conversations past, encasing her in warmth as she thought about what she wanted to do._

_But her eyes returned to the other side, landing on the crescent blade that glared at someone she called friend. A thin figure stood far behind him, not completely supporting him but agreeing with the point. Standing uncertainly beside her, a serpent looked back and forth between his teammate and his leader, unsure of where to stand. And behind them, the various townsfolk who still whispered whenever she walked past, giving dirty looks to the ghost accompanying her._

_Her thoughts slogged through the mist, which had become a more physical presence muffling everything from the sound of her breathing to the beat of her heart. She didn't know how to bring them all together again, agonizing over the gap between the people she had grown to care for more than the world she had come to save. She watched the shadowy figure of herself break free of the vines and run to the ghost, leaving them both to stand in the spotlight as the others crowded around them. One side cheered her on; the other cried foul. The voices rose into a cacophony, and the real Kitty put her hands over her ears and shouted, "_Stop!_"_

_When all sound finally ceased, she opened her eyes and looked down into the pool to see her reflection. It kept flickering, showing a blond-haired girl one moment and a black-furred fox the next. The pictures melded together into a glowing gold halo, and she spied two figures standing in the center. Leaning closer, she gasped when her efforts to discover who they were caused her to pitch forward into the pool, swallowed up by a bright flash of light—_

A light seared through her eyelids, waking her up.

* * *

**Theme**: Versus

_Lots of dragon-y love,  
~DL ("Dragon Lover")_


End file.
